Swimming With Mermaids
by grifman275
Summary: All it takes is one stone thrown into a calm lake to cause ripples. One extra person who was never suppose to be there can be that metaphorical stone, even if they don't mean to be. Of course, when reborn into a new reality, it is almost impossible to not cause ripples. Self-Insert.
1. Crimson Night

**I had this on my computer for a few months now and I finally mustered up the courage to post this. This is my first attempt at writing something like this. This will go AU in some regards due to recent developments in the manga, but that is way down the line as I plan to world build and take my time writing this. I plan on taking awhile before coming even close to any canon event. I would appreciate constructive criticism to help me improve my writing.**

* * *

 **Crimson Night**

I don't know how I didn't noticed it sooner. Really. It should have been the red hair, brown eyes, my sister being named Erza, and living in Rosemary Village on the planet of Earthland that should have gave it away. In my defense, it's not every day you die and get reborn, especially into an anime world. Also my memory was really foggy for a while, so there's that as well.

Let's begin how I got into this mess in the first place. It all started with a thunderstorm, and not your run of the mill thunderstorm where there are few lightning bolts every few minutes. This was a storm to end all storms. There was lightning going off several times a minute, torrential rain and gusting winds. I'm totally not exaggerating this to make my death seem awesome.

Me, being the genius that I am, decided that I could make it home if I ran as fast as I could. I was only a mile away and the chances of being hit by lighting were slim. Well you can guess what happens next. I'm running, soaked to the bone, and all the sudden a flash. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, ears ringing, numb all over and losing consciousness.

I don't remember being reborn, nor do I want to. I wasn't fully conscious for most of the first few years of my new life. It might been due to the fact that my body's brain couldn't handle twenty-three years' worth of memories and adult thought processes. I didn't fully "awake" until I was around three years old.

It was during the night when it happened. My eyes snapped open, and I inhaled sharply and stared breathing really heavily. I feel something embrace me, and I flinch. "What's wrong Imouto? Are you all right?" I hear a concerned young voice whisper in my ear. It takes a few moments for my brain to process what the hell is happening. I'm suddenly hit with memories of this life and I realize who is talking to me. "It's nothing nee-chan, just a nightmare," I say with a high pitched voice. I almost cringe on how bad it sounds. I must have been crying as well, because my sister, _Erza_ , hugs me harder, "don't worry Rubi, Onee-chan is here to protect you, always." My body instinctively relaxes at her comforting statement, and she loosens her hug on me a little. After a few minutes, I fell her body relax as she falls asleep.

I take this opportunity to process all the new information on where I am. Apparently, my name is now Rubina, I'm an orphan with my new sister, Erza, who currently six years old. I live in a town called Rosemary, and I was born in the year X768, to a single mother who died a year after my birth, putting my sister and me into the village orphanage. Some of this information feels familiar, like I've heard it some of this before, but my memories are still a bit fuzzy. Fuzzy memories or not, there is one thing for certain.

I'm not on earth anymore, or at least my version of earth. My new memories tell me that this place is called Earthland. I would be lying if I said that this situation didn't disturb me a little. Sighing, I turn my head to see my new sister. I let a small smile form on my face at the prospect of having a sibling that I never had before. ' _Even though you're technically older than me, nee-chan, I will always be there to protect you as well…_ ' I blink at my thoughts. This world is strange, because the written and spoken language seems to be English, but they also use some Japanese words as well. Well thank God that my brain already learned this while I was "asleep", otherwise it would have given me a huge headache. Sighing once again, I relax, close my eyes and fall asleep.

You're probably wondering why I was so accepting of my situation and why I'm not having a mental breakdown; well don't worry, a week later when I realized this wasn't a coma induced dream, well let's just it wasn't pretty.

Randomly throwing a crying fit in the middle of town wasn't my best moment. Did I forget mention that I was guy previously?

 **Xxx Year X774, Rosemary Village xxX**

It's been three years since I awoke that night. It was weird being a kid again, and even weirder being the opposite sex. It took me awhile to adjust to that fact. The first time I looked into mirror after "awakening" was a very unsettling event for me. Gone were the blue eyes, brown hair, the distinctly male features and adult body. What stared back at me was a little girl with crimson red hair and ruby red eyes. Apparently, I was named after my eye color, thus I was named Rubina. I looked very similar to my sister, but her hair was a slightly different shade of red than mine, and a little longer as well. Also, her eyes were more almond shaped while mine were more rounded. If there wasn't the obvious height difference between us, we could almost be twins.

As a kid, you had little responsibility, and you could get away with things that an adult could not. You could ask questions about almost anything, and people would not be suspicious of your reasoning other than that you're just a curious child. Being a child again also allowed me to do things I haven't been able to do since I was a child in my first life. I was able to guilt trip adults into doing things with the good old cliché puppy dog eyes. I never realized how effective they were, seriously, something about a small child making wide eyes and fake tears is just too much for adults to handle. I was able to con so many sweets off adults that I had a hidden stash under a floor board that was only known to me and my sister. In my previous life, I never had such the sweet tooth. I never ate the candy I got on Halloween, I just did the trick-or-treating for the fun of it. This wasn't the case in this new life. This body seemed to love sweets of any type.

Rosemary was a peaceful village situated in southern Fiore. Every time I think of these names, something in the back of my mind tells me that I should know them. Despite awakening three years ago, my memories are still not completely back yet. I feel like I am in a constant state of déjà vu sometimes, especially whenever Erza decides to wear her blue dress, which is like every other day. I don't blame her for wearing it a lot since we're orphans, which means we don't get much clothing for ourselves. We didn't even have shoes, only some pants, tops and the bed we shared. All the money in orphanage went towards food, clothes, and beds. The food was what took up most of the budget, and what was left went towards clothes and other essential necessities. Not everyone got shoes unless they were handed down from the kids who outgrew them.

The Orphanage was one of, if not the biggest, building in the village. Apparently it was owned by some rich guy that passed away some years ago. He had no heir to the estate, so as his last will and testament, he donated it to the village to use as the new orphanage. I'm glad he did, because I could not imagine what the old building must have been like, considering there weren't that many large buildings in the village. The old one must have been very cramped. It was a little depressing living at the orphanage. But, what orphanage isn't?

It was getting close to dark, and Erza and I were on the other side of the village. We were rushing back to orphanage, because the matron could be quite scary if you broke rules, when chaos suddenly consumed the village. Thundering explosions, and a blinding flash of light lit the sky. Then the screaming started. I was suddenly grabbed by the hand and pulled along by my sister and I reached speeds faster than I have ever gone in this new body. "We've got to get back, right now!" She yelled as flames started rising and black smoke started filling the air. We turn a corner to see weird men wearing masks with weird symbols on them. They were stabbing people with swords and other weapons. ' _Why do those symbols look so fam-_ ' I don't have time to finish my thoughts as I'm suddenly yanked in the opposite direction.

"We have to get out of here!" My sister yells in panic as we start fleeing the pack of weird, murderous men. "TAKE THE CHILDREN! KILL ALL THE ADULTS!" I hear a man's voice yell through the chaos. Screams of fear and anguish are coming from all directions and for the first time in this new life, I feel true fear.

While running through the burning streets, I hear a child's voice."Onii-chan… where are you?!" It was girl, around my age, wearing a short white dress and a white ribbon on her head. Erza sees her as well, and changes her direction towards her and grabs her arm. "They'll find you if you stand here!" she shouts and starts pulling her as well.

At this point, flames have consumed most of the village, and my legs are starting to burn from all the running. ' _Why is this happening? What have I've done to deserve this?_ ' I'm pulled out of my thoughts by my sister. "Hide in here!" she says quickly and I look to see the other girl is in a wooden crate already with tears on her face. "Come on! Hurry up!" she whispers sharply, and I obey without question. I quickly climb in and notice that there is no space for her. "Onee-chan, where will you hide?" I ask with a wavering voice and tears start to blur my vision. "I HEAR A CHILD'S VOICE!" I hear a man yell. My sister looks at me and the other girl with a confident face," Don't worry. I'll find another place!" she whispers with confidence. "Live!" is the last words I hear her say before she closes the top of the crate, blocking out the light from the firestorm outside.

A few seconds later I hear a man's voice slightly muffled by the crate, "I FOUND A CHILD." "GRAB HER!" My heart stops at these words and I break down sobbing. The other girl in crate seemed join me as well as I feel her hug me and my shoulder suddenly becomes very wet. We sat in the dark crate for an unknown amount of time when the screams of the other villagers died down. At this point I'm exhausted, mentally and physically, and I finally shut my eyes and sleep consumes me.

 **(Some Time Later…)**

I awoke in the dark sitting up, and in a very uncomfortable position. At first I was confused, then memories of last night came back to me. "Nee-chan!" I shouted suddenly and a yelp to my side reminded me that there was some else with me. I quickly got to my feet, ignoring the person next to me, and pushed the top of the crate with as much force as my small body could muster. The sudden flash of sunlight blinds me and I'm temporarily stunned. Quickly snapping out of my daze, I scramble to get out of the crate, ignoring the panicked, "Wait!" Coming from the other girl that was with me. My eyes have tears in them, half from the blinding sunlight and the other half from my own distress.

"Nee-chan! Where are you Nee-"My frantic yelling cut short and I stop dead in my tracks. In front of me was my village, the place that was now my home, destroyed. All the buildings were smoldering ruins with smoke still coming of them. I look around and horror fills my being at the sight of a large pile. A pile of skeletons. Charred black skeletons. Then the smell hits me. I fall to my knees and dry heave, gagging uncontrollably.

' _Who would do this!? Why would those masked men do this!?'_ I thought, my body still trying me to spill the contents of my stomach. ' _Why did those mask seem so familiar!? They shouldn't have, but they did, why? WHY?!'_

Then something in the back of my head tells me why. ' _ **They were a Zeref cult. The same one who built the Tower of Heaven. The same one from Fairy Tail.'**_

' _No…'_

"No…" I breathe, horror crossing my face as I realized what really happened. What the gravity of my situation truly was.

' _That's why all this seemed familiar, like I've seen things before, why all these names and information gave me déjà vu. It's because I have seen them before… I've seen them in Fairy Tail… I'M IN THE FRICKEN FAIRY TAIL UNIVERSE.'_ My fists clinch, grabbing the ash that was covering the ground like a dark gray snow. Anger starts to well up within me.

' _And my sister… was Erza, Erza Scarlet, and she was just taken by slavers, to protect me. She's going be tortured, starved, beaten and lose an eye, and I… I could have prevented it.'_ Anger is now starting bubble to surface, my nails are starting to dig into my palms. I ignore the pain.

' _I could have prevented this. If I had remembered sooner, I could have warned the town. I could have warned the authorities. I could have warned someone. Hell, I could have at least gotten me and Erza to safety. I could have… I could have…'_ At this point I was seething, my breathes growing heavier and heavier. I was not only angry at the slavers, but I was also angry at myself. Angry at my failure.

So caught up in rage, I didn't realize I had an aura around me, and my body shooting out crimson sparks of electricity. My irises glowing red.

' _Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!'_ I raise up my right arm, my fist still filled with ash. Then with a rage filled yell, I slam my arm down to the ground with as much force that could I muster.

As soon as my fist connects with the ground, I'm suddenly sent flying backwards with flash of light and a thunderous boom. I reconnect with the ground a moment later, pain explodes all over my back and the air is knocked out of my lungs. My ears are ringing and my vision is blurry. I'm looking up at the cloudless sky, gasping for breath, and then a blurry face enters my vision.

' _The girl that was in the crate with me… Kagura… Why am I on my back? Why are my ears ringing? What happened?_ _Am I going to die…_?' The girl, Kagura, is now shaking me frantically, crying, saying things that are blocked out from the ringing. I feel numb all over and slightly concussed, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I think I might be twitching as well.

All of this is too much and I start to slowly close my eyes. Kagura's shaking grows more violent in a vain attempt to keep me awake. I don't know how long I was laying there, staring at the sky. Eventually, I notice my eyes closing, and before darkness over takes me, a larger figure enters my vision, and moves Kagura out of the way. My eyes shut before I see who this mystery figure is.


	2. Morning of Ash

**This chapter will have a POV change to a more third person perspective. This will only happen when the chapter is not written from the main character's perspective.**

* * *

 **Morning of Ash**

 **Xxx Year X774, Town of Salice xxX**

Located in southern Fiore, east of Hargeon, stood the town of Salice, home to just over forty thousand people. Salice bordered a lake, Lake Sirena, and was surrounded by a large forest. On the lake front, stood a large, three story building. The building was painted with a mixture of greens and blues. On top was a mermaid made of stone holding a large flag that depicted a capitol M that had mirrored S' that were stylized to look fish tails going through it. In front was huge a fountain with another mermaid statue. This building was no ordinary building. This building was home to Salice's resident guild, Mermaid Heel.

It was early in the morning, the sun starting to rise over the horizon, and the only thing that was moving at moment was a lone vehicle cruising down the main street. This vehicle was and odd contraption, it had four wheels, a seat in the front with a lever to steer it. Behind the seat was a passenger cabin painted with an aquatic theme of blues and greens with decals that resembled aquatic fauna. Of course this vehicle couldn't drive itself, thus it had a driver sitting in the front seat. The driver of the vehicle wore a green travel cloak.

Looking to the sky, light revealed the face of a woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties with long seafoam green hair and ocean blue eyes. She had high cheek bones, a rounded chin and almond shaped eyes. Underneath the cloak was a slender, voluptuous body wearing a sea green dress with a skirt that was sown to look like fish scales. Just underneath the woman's neck was a pink Mermaid Heel emblem. Coming out of the cloak was a black tube that connected the woman's wrist to the vehicle. The woman's name was Celia Marea, first master of Mermaid Heel.

Celia was heading east to Hargeon to catch the train to Clover Town for the guild masters' regular meeting. As there was no track connecting Hargeon to Salice, one either had to walk or own a magic four wheeler like Celia did.

Despite the weather being near perfect, Celia had an annoyed look on her face.

' _I don't why I keep going to these meetings. We rarely talk about important matters, and eventually the men get drunk and pathetically try hit on the few women that are there.'_ She thought, annoyance building up within her.

' _What even worse is that Old Man Makarov, and that lipstick wearing weirdo, Jose Porla, always end up getting into an argument that eventually devolves into a fight. Even a small fight between two wizard saints is a sight to behold. Especially when they are acting like children in a school yard._

 _I never thought ten years ago, when I founded the guild, that I would be going to these type meetings where grown men actively engage in pointless pissing contests. Thank god I made the guild a female only guild. I don't think I could deal with all the testosterone on daily basis. Hell, I can barely stand it for the couple days that I'm at the meeting'_ Celia sighed, and looked down at the four wheeler's clock.

' _If I continue at my current speed, I should arrive at Hargeon with an hour to spar. I wish I could go faster, but I rather not pass out while driving this thing due to magic depletion. Couldn't they have made vehicle that didn't run off your magic reserves? Or at least a vehicle that didn't use so much? I get that it's faster than walking, but if you're not a mage with decent sized magic reserves, then you can't feasibly use one of these without passing out from magic depletion.'_ She contemplated with an annoyed expression on her face.

It was currently nine-thirty in the morning and Celia was nearing the edge of the town. ' _I wish Lana could have accompanied me to Hargeon, but she's too busy taking care of her kid.'_ Celia sighed, ' _I really need more friends my age, all my other ones either too busy raising families or have left for other purs-_ CAW! _"_ Celia was snapped out of her thoughts by the sudden noise. She looked up to see a lone crow flying directly above her. ' _Well that's not ominous…_ ' She mused, with a deadpan expression.

Twenty minutes later she reached a crossroad where two signs stood. The sign that pointed right read Hargeon, while the one pointed left read Rosemary. Normally, Celia would ignore the left sign, and continue on her way to Hargeon, but this time was an exception.

A plume of smoke was rising from the direction of the village. The plume was large, suggesting an uncontrollable fire. Rosemary was village filled with non-magic users and they would have trouble putting out such a large fire.

' _Well that can't be good… I'd better help with that before the whole village is burnt down_ ' A frown formed on her face. Celia manipulated the steering lever and put a little more magic power into the four-wheeler. The vehicle suddenly doubled in speed, and started kicking up dust.

As Celia got closer to the village, the ground and trees got increasingly grayer and grayer. It was the result of an immense amount of Ash. Celia's expression grew increasingly disturbed as she got closer, ' _How big is this fire?! The whole village would have to be burning for there to be this much ash!_ '

Celia's questions were soon answered when she reached the entrance of the village. The four-wheeler stopped in its tracks. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. In front of her was not the peaceful village that she remembered coming to occasionally. In front of her was a wasteland of smoldering ruins. The whole village was gone, just smoldering piles of used to be buildings. Some were not completely burned, thus were still on fire, filling the air with smoke.

However, this was not the most horrifying sight. Piles of charred skeletons littered the streets, giving off an awful smell. It almost overpowered Celia, but she used her cloak as a temporary face mask.

"W-What the hell happen here?!" she exclaimed before she started coughing from smell of the burning corpse piles. It seems not even her cloak could fully protect her from the smell. Composing herself, she jumped off her vehicle and started investigating the ruins.

The ground had a grey layer of ashes that almost felt like snow. Walking around, foot prints being left in the ashes, Celia started coming up with theories.

' _There is no way this fire was an accident, and unless the villagers had a mass suicide ritual, this was an attack. An attack by wizards, most likely a dark guild_ ' Celia's expression grew cold, her lips forming a grimace, and her eyes narrowing in anger. ' _Whoever did this is going to pay… I promise it_ '

Suddenly, she whipped her head around as she felt a huge spike of magical energy from the other side of the village. ' _Are they still here?! I'm going to make them pay for what they do-_ 'Her thoughts were cut as a bright flash and boom as loud as a thunderclap assaulted her senses. Celia, almost flinched, but she managed to stay composed.

She immediately broke out into a sprint towards the epicenter of the chaos. She started charging up her magic as she ran through the ruins and she jumped over a burnt stone wall that used to be a house, and immediately stopped at what she saw. In front of her were two children, under the age of ten by her estimate, around five or six. They were both girls from what she could tell.

One had a white dress on with black pants and had long, dark purple hair with a white ribbon in it. She was currently yelling something incoherently in a panicked sob over the other girl. Said girl was on the ground, light blue dress that was dirty and slightly singed. She had shoulder length crimson red hair and wasn't moving much.

"Shit!" Celia whispered to herself, eyes widening.

She started rushing over to the two children, but before she could get close to them, the purple haired one saw her and a panicked fear over took the child's face.

"N-NO! Stay away!" the child screamed in terror.

Before Celia could respond, and overwhelming force out of nowhere caused her to trip and fall. She would have fell on her face if she didn't catch herself with her arms. She tried to get up, but she was finding it difficult as she felt suddenly heavier.

' _Gravity magic?! Where did this come from!?_ ' Celia looked up to find the answer to her question. The girl was still staring at her with tears in her eyes and on the verge of hyper ventilating.

' _I don't what happened to elicit such a reaction, but if she doesn't calm down, she might kill herself from magic depletion._ '

"I-I'm not here to hurt you, kid. I just got here, and saw you and your friend here. I'm here to help." Celia looked the girl straight in the eyes, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. Internally she was wishing she was better with kids.

The girl didn't look convinced. "Y-You're lying, you're one of them! Y-You're gonna take us too!" The girl yelled with terror.

"Look kid, if you don't calm down, you're going to kill yourself! I don't think you want that! I'm here to help, I can get your friend there help too, but only if you calm down first, okay?" Celia pointed to said girl.

"Please, let me help you." Celia said with a concern filled voice.

The crying girl seemed to believe her, because the sudden pressure was lifted and Celia let out a relived breathe. She got up slowly and walked over to the two girls. She crouched down to inspect the injured girl. Her hands were twitching slightly and her eyes were closing.

Celia put her fingers to the girl's neck and felt a weak, but steady pulse. She then inspected the girl's injuries. Severe first degree burns on the arms and legs, bruises forming on the back of her arms. Celia then noticed a little blood pooling underneath the back the girl's head. Inwardly cursing, she lifted the girl's and her hand glowed blue. Ignoring the surprised gasp from her side, she conjured water to her hand and started to wash the back of the injured girl's head.

' _This is going to need bandages. Bandages that I don't have._ ' She inwardly cursed. Looking around for something to use, until finally she finally looked at her cloak. ' _Darn, I really liked this cloak too._ ' She sighed and turned her head to the other girl.

"I'm going to need you to hold her head for a second, can you do that?" Celia asked.

The other girl looked at her and then to other girl, bloody water flowing on the ground underneath her, and nodded quickly. She put her hands under the girls head, and Celia stood up and took of her cloak reveling her long, free flowing, green hair. She immediately started ripping her cloak into bandage sized strips. She took the injured girls head and started wrapping it with her former cloak. After thoroughly wrapping the girls head, she turned her attention to purple haired girl.

"What happened? How did she get injured?" As soon as the question left Celia's mouth, the girl burst into tears.

"S-Some b-bad men came a-and, and…" she didn't finish her sentence before she broke out in sobs.

Celia was internally panicking of what to do with the crying child. ' _Crap! Now what do I do?!_ ' Without knowing what to really do in this situation, she had to improvise.

"Shush, shush, it's okay… they're gone now and won't hurt you anymore, okay?" she said in a soft voice she didn't know she had. That seemed to do the trick and the girl calmed down a little. Celia did her best reassuring smile she could make, and looked at the girl.

"Can you tell how what happened to her?" She said pointing to the red head in her arm. "Was is because of that explosion? Do you know what caused it?"

The purple-nette didn't answer at first, she was trying to control her sobs. And then started talking at a rapid pace

"S-She woke up and climbed out of the box we were hiding in, behind that house over there." The girl pointed to what looked like the least burnt house in the village. "S-She ran off somewhere and left me alone. I-I didn't want to be alone, so I climbed out too. I turn the corner to find her on the ground. I was about to run her, but s-she started glowing… all the sudden s-she hits the ground and b-boom! I-I couldn't see for a little bit and then I see a big hole and her far away, not moving… a-and I didn't know what to do… I-Is she g-gonna d-die?!" She looks at Celia with sad and distressed eyes.

Said woman took a moment to process the information. She looked around and notice a small crater several feet away, and looked back at the girl. "She will be alright, but only if we get her medical attention. My guild has a good infirmary, so we need to take her there as soon as possible, okay?" The girl nodded, and Celia picked up the red head with both arms, and stood up.

"We are headed to Salice, ok? I have a vehicle so it won't take too long. After that, you can tell me all you know about what happened. Let's head out." The girl seemed a little reluctant, but nodded again. Celia turned to the direction of her four-wheeler and started walking, and the girl followed.

"By the way, what's yours and this one's name?" Celia asked, looking over shoulder.

"My name is Kagura Mikazuchi, and-"Kagura's faced flushed "I don't know her name, we met last night."

"Well, I guess we have to ask her when she wakes up then. My name is Celia, Celia Marea" That was last thing the two said while walking to the four wheeler. Celia was processing today's events.

' _A group just slaughtered a whole village of civilians, and seemed to kidnap others as well. Whoever did this will pay, I'll make sure of it._ ' She looked at the unconscious face of the girl she was carrying, and at the now named Kagura, who was now walking next to her, while the girl was silently sniffling. ' _These two both managed to unlock their magic at such a young age… This Kagura has shown to have large magic reserves, and going by that explosion earlier, so has the red head. Given proper guidance, they would become exceptional mages. And if they so choose, Mermaid Heel would be proud to have them._ ' Celia was brought out of her thoughts when her four-wheeler came into sight.

Arriving at the four wheeler, she opened up the door the rear cab and set the girl on the rear seat. She then proceeded to strap her in with the seat belts. She then turned her head to Kagura, "Have you ever been in one of these?" Kagura shook her head.

"Well, this called a magic four-wheeler powered by, well it's in the name… Any way I need you to sit in here and watch her, to make sure nothing happens, alright?" The girl nodded and Celia helped her in the vehicle, hooking her up with seat belts as well. She then pointed to the window behind Kagura

"If anything happens, knock on the window… Oh! Before I forget, I would hold on to something, because we are about to go really fast" The girl nodded once again and Celia smiled. Closing the door, she then hoped on the driver seat and hooked up the SE-plug. She started the magic flow to the vehicle and it came to life. She turned the vehicle around and then smirked. She pumped a tremendous amount of magical power into the four-wheeler and it took off at break-neck speeds.

She could hear the muffled screams of terror from the girl in the back, and in a small section in the back of her head, she felt a little guilty for doing this to a little girl who just lost everything. ' _She'll get over it, besides, I got an injured girl to save_ '.

Kagura never got over it, and for many years in the future, she would continually bring this incident up whenever she got in a four-wheeler with Celia, much to Celia's amusement.

* * *

Salice - Is Italian for Willow, to go with Fiore's theme of naming cities after plants and flowers.

Sirena - Is Italian for Siren which mermaids can be.

Marea - Is Italian for Tide.

I tried to write the dialogue as best I could and hope I got it realistic enough. There isn't much info about Mermaid Heel, so I have a lot of creative freedom to work with.


	3. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

**Hello Darkness, My Old Friend**

Darkness. Darkness is all around me. I open my eyes and all I see is darkness. I bring my hand to up my face, and surprisingly, I could see it. I then notice that I'm laying down and I quickly get up. I look around, and the black void looks back.

"H-Hello! Is anyone out there?!" I shout into the blackness. Nothing shouts back. Panic starts to well up within me.

"Anyone?! Is there anyone out there?! Answer me! Please!" My yelling becomes more and more desperate with each word. Nothing but the sound of silence greets my ears.

"Please… someone… anyone…" I whisper in a low voice. Instead of silence answering again, a chorus of incomprehensible whispers fills the air. Compared to the silence, it was deafening. The whispers become so loud, my ears start to hurt. I then cover my ears in a vain attempt to block out the loud cacophony of whispers. It fails.

I'm on the ground suddenly, in fetal position, with my eyes closed, hands still over my ears and writhing in pain. Suddenly the whispers stop, and the pain subsides. I slowly open my eyes and push myself up, panting heavily.

In front of me when I open my eyes is the same black void, but instead just blackness in front of me, there is the back of a shoe-less girl with red hair wearing a dirty white dress, and thick metal bracelets with red bulbs on them. She is about fifty feet away, and she is very familiar…

"Erza-nee!" I shout, and burst into a dead sprint towards my sister, tears forming in my eyes.

My sister starts to turn around.

"Erza-ne-" I immediately stop speaking because of the horrifying sight in from of me. My sister had bruises all over her body, and the white dress had traces of blood on it, but the most notable feature was the bandage over her right eye.

I stop dead in my tracks at the sight before me.

"E-Erza-nee, w-what happened to you!?" I asked with a trembling voice.

She is staring at me with a blank expression, before it is replaced with a scowl I've never seen on her before.

"You know exactly what happened, Impostor!" she said in a low, acerbic tone.

Her accusation shocks me to my core, and a deep feeling of hurt wells up inside me.

"W-What are y-you talking about nee-chan?" I ask, my voice filled with hurt.

Her face turns dark, and her scowl deepens. "You know exactly what I mean, Impostor! You are not my sister, get out!" She yells.

"B-But, I-I am your sis-"

"If you won't get out, then I'll make you get out!" I'm cut off by her threat, and a small metal chest plate appears on her body, and a sword materializes in her hand. And she starts walking towards me.

Seeing the danger that I'm in, terror floods my body, and the adrenaline starts pumping. I swiftly turn around to run, and instead of an empty black void behind me, there is Rosemary village. Burning. A wave of heat hits me and I'm momentarily stunned, but I quickly snap out of it. I Look behind me, and Erza is still walking menacingly towards me with a sword, and I immediately burst into a sprint.

Not caring about where I'm going, except away from Erza, I bob and weave through the burning streets, with smoke polluting the air. I turn the corner to find a group of cult members slaughtering men and women with swords, sending blood everywhere, and making screams fill the air. I'm stunned at the sight.

"You could have prevented this…" a voice says to my side.

I look to my side to see Erza still walking towards me with the same dark, murderous expression. I immediately start running again, heart beating in my chest, and my lungs starting to burn from the smoke.

I turn another corner to see a man and a woman who is most likely his lover, on the ground, begging in front of a man from the cult.

"No! Please! Spare us, we'll do anyth-"He is cut off as the man in the cult uniform conjures forth flames from his hands and immediately engulfs the pair in a brilliant ball of fire. Their screams are so loud, that it made my ears almost bleed, and I'm start to feel sick to my stomach.

"…But you didn't…" says my sister again, almost a foot away from me.

I immediately turn around to see her swinging downward with her sword. With my adrenaline enhanced reflexes, I jump backwards, and the sword misses, going through where my head would have been.

I start running once again, tears in my eyes, my legs burning, and my lungs burnt from the hot air and smoke. I don't make it far before I trip and fall flat on my face, and pain explodes all over. I lay there for a short moment, before groaning in pain and rolling over on my back.

My vision is blurry, and I'm feeling concussed. A blurry figure appears above my prone form, and my vision sharpens instantly to reveal my sister's face with a hateful expression on it.

"…And now, you will pay the price" she finishes, in low voice.

She raises her sword slowly above her head.

"Goodbye, Impostor." She says before she swings downwards, and my eyes snap open to blinding light.

* * *

Well, that was dark. But most nightmares are very dark. What inspired this particular nightmare was a part from Fable II, when the bad guy shoots the main character and they find them selves back with their sister. When the player leaves the ranch they are in, the world immediately turns to hell, and the main character's sister starts screaming, and it gets quite disturbing. I really didn't like that part. And I stopped playing after that, as I got my first bad Karma points ever in the game, and I was mad and disturbed. To this day, I never finished that game (Don't judge me, I was a young child). I was thinking of adding some more stuff, but it wouldn't fit in a T-rated story.


	4. Awake, and Alive

**I want to take the time to thank all you that have followed and left a review. It has boosted my confidence a lot.**

* * *

 **Awake, and Alive**

I shoot up with a gasping breath, my heart pounding out of chest, my body covered in a cold sweat, and my eyes stinging from harsh sunlight beaming directly upon me. My breathing is heavy and fast, and I'm borderline hyperventilating. As a response to harsh light beaming directly onto my face, I immediately cover my eyes with my hands and I feel thick, cotton bandages on my head.

I'm momentarily confused as to why I would have bandages on my head, but then the memories of before flood back into me.

"Nee-chan!" I exclaim suddenly, removing my hands from my face.

The sunlight is still enough to blind me a little, and I quickly close my eyes in pain. Eventually, the pain subsides, and I open my eyes once more, and I look towards the source of the light. My vision is a little blurry, but after a few blinks, it clears up and reveals a sight that made me question whether I was still dreaming. Outside of a window is a sparkling blue lake that is surrounded by a lush green forest, with sunlight reflecting off its beautiful waters. I don't know how long I stare at the mesmerizing sight.

I eventually turn my attention away from the breathtaking sight to look around, and try to figure out where I am. I'm in an ocean blue room, with oak wood floors, and multiple beds with blue sheets organized neatly next to each other. I look down, and notice that I am in one the many beds in the room, wearing some type of white shirt that I know I wasn't wearing before. There was also the fact that it was a little too big for me.

' _Am I in a hospital?_ _Seems a bit small…'_ I think to myself.

The sound of a doorknob turning interrupts my musing, and I tense up, turning my head towards the offending door. A woman with hair a shade of green I've never seen before, wearing what looks like a dress with… fish scales?

She freezes half-way through the doorway as soon as she sees me staring at her, and I make eye contact with her ocean blue eyes. Her face flashes briefly in surprise, before a wry look replaces it and smirk makes its way onto her face.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kid. For someone so small, you sure can make a hell of a crater. I knew you were a trooper." She said in a joking voice, with a hint of sarcasm.

"U-Uh, um…" was my only response, as I was stunned by this woman's bluntness. I've never seen someone with such terrible bedside manner.

Seeing my bemused expression, her smirk only got bigger. She starts to walk over to me, exuding confidence in every step.

Snapping out of my stupor, a pink stylized M draws my attention to just below her neck. The symbol looks very familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I've seen it before.

The woman grabs a chair that was at the side of the bed I was in, and takes a seat next to me.

"You were lucky I was around to find you. You suffered some serious injuries, Kid. You gotta be careful when using magic at your age. Magic exhaustion is a very serious issue." And the terrible bedside manner returns. Wait… What did she just say?

"W-What!?" I squeak out, and I'm internally hitting myself because of my voice doing that.

"But we can talk about that later. As I have more pressing concerns right now" she says, completely ignoring my incredulous expression.

The woman sighs, and her face loses the smirk and softens a little.

"Listen, I'm not the best with kids, and I have no clue how to comfort them, that's more of Lana's thing, so I'll be quick with this…. Can you tell me what happened?" she asks in a soft voice.

The question snaps me back to reality, and brings tears to my eyes, which it shouldn't, I'm a grown adult and I should be able to control myself. A sob escapes me, and the woman hesitantly puts a hand on my shoulder, perhaps in an attempt to comfort me. Tears start falling down the side of my face, and the sobbing increases.

"Crap… uh… I'm sorry! Please stop crying! I'll buy you candy! Kids like candy! Right!?" she blurts out with slight panic in her voice. Not good with kids indeed.

I have to use all the mental power I have to calm down, and it works. I start calming down, and with the occasional hiccup, I manage to tell her what I know, or at least, what I should know (I didn't tell her any details that I couldn't possibly know). At the end of the ordeal, she has a somber look on her face, and sighs, before mumbling what sounds like a curse under her breath. Her face then hardens, and she then looks me straight in the eyes, her ocean blue eyes conveying conviction.

"I'll make sure whoever did this pays, and I promise you, I will get your sister back…" she stops her declaration abruptly, and her face turns a little confused.

"…What did you say your name was again?" she asks suddenly.

If my life were an anime (oh the irony), I would be sweat dropping. The question totally killed moment.

"Um… You didn't ask me for my name, Stranger-san… you haven't even told me where I am…" and right after these words leave mouth, she looks at me for a couple of seconds, blinks once or twice, and then her face turns a little red.

' _Well, so much for the whole serious atmosphere…'_ I think to myself as the woman recovers from her mild embarrassment.

"*Ahem* Right, sorry about that. I was too caught up in the moment that I completely forgot. My name is Celia Marea, first master of the magic guild, Mermaid Heel, and you are currently in Salice."

' _Did she just say Mermaid Heel? Wasn't that the female only guild that Kagura was in? That explains why the mark below her neck was so familiar-'_

"You gonna introduce yourself, Kid, or are you just going to stare my chest all day?" My thoughts are interrupted by her statement, and my face starts feeling warm from embarrassment.

"M-My name is, Rubina" I say with embarrassment.

"No last name?" she asks without thinking.

"No…never had one…" I say, letting her come to her own conclusion.

Thankfully, she connects the dots, and promptly groans and face palms at her bluntness, before mumbling something about a woman named Lana.

"Right, sorry about that, I'm not the most subtle person in the world. Anyway, you are currently in my guild infirmary, recovering from a head wound and magic depletion. Oh right, congratulations on unlocking your magic by the way, not many unlock theirs at such a young age. I'm sorry that the circumstances were not the best though."

Oh, I completely forgot, she mentioned something about me having magic earlier.

"I have m-magic?!" I squeak out. I'm starting to hate this child body.

Her wry smirk returns.

"Oh you have magic alright, and quite big reserves for your age too. You caused quite the crater when I found you." At her statement, my face flushes.

"Don't be so embarrassed, Kid, it happens to the best of us" she says in a lighthearted matter.

"But anyway, I have preposition for you, Kid. As much as I hate to say it, you don't have anywhere to go, and I can't in good conscience let you go out into the world on your own. So… I was thinking you could stay here, at Mermaid Heel."

' _Is she doing what I think she's doing?'_

"And I would highly recommend this, as you will have the opportunity to develop your gift, and you'll also be more certain on where your life will be going as well. And when you hit ten years old, you'll be able to join a guild legally and if you decide to stay here, I can guarantee that you will be accepted."

' _Yep, she totally is. She does realize she is technically talking to a six year old, right? She really doesn't know how to talk to kids._

The woman, Celia, sighs.

"I'll give you some time to think about it."She says before getting up and starts walking towards the door on the other side of the room.

When she gets to the door, she looks back at with me with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Kid. I really am." She starts to walk, and then stops again.

"Oh, before I forget, the other girl that was with you is here as well." And with that, she leaves, closing the door behind her.

I look the window to my side, to the lake outside, its water sparkling a brilliant blue. I'm sitting in the bed, finally alone again. I spend this alone time to reflect on the most recent happenings of my new life.

A teardrop hits the bed sheet. Then it's followed by another, then another, before a river of tears flows down my face. I don't remember the last time I cried like this, but I'm sure this was the longest cry I've ever had.

I don't how long I stayed like that, but the sun eventually went down and I eventually cried myself to sleep.

* * *

This chapter took a long time for me to write. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I was going to write it. As you can see, Celia has no idea how to talk to kids, and talks to them almost like adults. She is very blunt, and sometimes doesn't think before saying stuff, but she does have a caring side. I wanted to fit more info about the guild into this, but it wouldn't of fit the mood of the chapter, so I'll have to save it for the next. From now on, updates will take a few days, and once chapter sizes inevitably get bigger, I will try to update it weekly. Thank you for your Reviews and Follows.


	5. Mermaid Heel

**Another third person chapter.**

* * *

 **Mermaid Heel**

It was a nice day in the Salice. The sun was out, there were no clouds in the sky, and the birds were chirping. Walking through the busy streets were two women. One was Celia Marea, and the other was a woman with thick, curly bright green hair wearing a tight, dark yellow body suit with spider web designs on it. The woman had dark brown eyes that had bags under them from lack of sleep. This woman was Alana "Lana" Webb, a founding member of Mermaid Heel, mother of one, and Celia's best friend. Both women stood at equal height to each other and were in a heated conversation while heading back towards the guild.

"Can I at least take one week off without you getting into some type of trouble?" said Lana with exasperation.

"It's not like I asked to find a razed village with two kids as the only survivors." Celia pouted with protest.

"That's not the point, you can't seem not to keep yourself out of trouble." Lana scolded, her voice filled with mild annoyance.

"I'm sorry that I have the worst luck sometimes, but you knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to be my friend years ago." Celia shot back.

Lana rolled her eyes, "Yeah, if I would have known how much problems your luck would cause back then, I might have reconsidered." A smirk then made its way across her face, "I might have avoided what happened in Crocus five years ago"

Celia's face turned red and turned her head towards her friend with a glare, "I thought we agreed we'd never talk of that again!" Celia hissed.

"Oh, hush. I'm just pushing your buttons" Lana said, unfazed by Celia's glare. "And while we are on the pushing buttons, why didn't tell me about the two girls you found sooner? You know how bad you are with kids." Lana said, quickly changing topic.

Celia's glare was replaced with a face of mild embarrassment. "You just took the week off, and I didn't want to bother you… Besides, I think I did pretty well." Celia said, with a hint of pride.

Lana's face was neutral, and did not at all believe her longtime friend. "How many times did you make them cry?" She deadpanned.

Celia make a choking sound, before recovering quickly and mumbling something quietly.

"What was that?" Lana inquired.

"Three times. The purple haired girl twice, and the red head once" Celia said lowly in embarrassment.

Lana sighed, "Well, it could have been worse I suppose. I told you to come to me when it comes to children issues… While we are on the topic the girls, what do you have planned for them?"

Celia's face then turned a little serious, "Well the purple haired one, Kagura, has agreed to stay at guild for now, and I offered the red head, Rubina, a place to stay as well. I gave her some time to think about it… She awoke yesterday afternoon, by the way. She was still sleeping this morning, so I left her some fruit and fresh clothes by her bed for when she wakes up."

Lana eyed her friend, "Are they going to stay at the dorms? Someone else will have to pay for them for a while. Unless they are staying with one of us, and if that's the case, I already have a kid at home, and I don't have enough room for two more."

Celia looked onward, not worried by her friends concerns. "Don't worry about housing, there is a room open, and it's big enough for both them. I'll pay for them for a little while until they are able to pay for themselves."

So engaged in their conversation, the two women almost didn't notice that they just arrived outside the doors the guild.

They both stopped, Celia put her hand on the door, and a smirk made its way onto her face. "Don't worry about it, I got this handled." Her declaration was meet with a skeptical look from Lana. Celia then opened the door and both she and Lana walked inside.

The guild hall had a solid oak wood floor, and ocean blue walls with many images of mermaids and various aquatic life painted on them. The room was filled with wooden tables, organized in rows, and a stage at the back. The right side of the room had a bar that many types of alcoholic beverages. The left side of the room had a huge board with various pieces of paper pinned to it; this was the job board. Both sides of the room had doors that opened up to a hallway with various other rooms. A set of stairs in the front of room, left of the door, led up to the second floor, which had more tables, and a smaller mission board. This board held A-rank and higher jobs, and was up there so that they didn't get taken by mistake. The second floor had a balcony that overlooked the first. There was a set of stairs that led up to the third floor, which had a single room with a desk inside with tons of paper work strewn about. This was Celia's office.

There were various guild members with their ages varying between their late-teens to mid-thirties, sitting at the tables on seats with very comfortable cushions. There were also members sitting at the bar as well. They were watching a young woman, who was about twenty, with long blonde hair tied up into a pony tail. She was wearing a white bolero jacket and a white dress with a skirt. On her right hip were two swords: an elegant rapier, and a full sized katana inside a white sheath. She had a slender, but curvy body. She gave off an air of regality and elegance, and was playing a violin, filling the room with its melodious sound.

This was Maribelle Lockhart, one of the strongest, if not the strongest mage of Mermaid Heel. Maribelle finished her performance, then opened her brilliant emerald green eyes. The guild burst in to applause, with claps and whistles filling the air. Maribelle bowed in response, a small smile was on her face. The violin in her hand then disappeared in brief flash of gold light, and Maribelle then walked off stage.

Celia and Lana also started clapping, even though they just arrived at the end of the performance. "I have one more concern." Lana asked, turning her head towards Celia.

"Yes?" was Celia's only response.

Lana had a worried look on her face, "They have no one else their age here. The guild hasn't had kids that young hanging around for almost ten years." Her voice was filled concern.

Celia stopped clapping and looked at Lana, "Why don't you bring your kid? She's about their age, right?" She responded casually.

Lana's shoulders sunk and she sighed, "Well, Araña is a little younger than them, and I was hoping to wait until she was a little older before bringing her to the guild…. But, I guess could…" Her face then turned scary, "You better tell everyone to behave themselves. If I hear my baby repeating some of the stuff is that is said in here, you'll feel my wrath!" She threatened in a low voice.

Celia started sweating at her friend's threat, she put her hands up front of her in disarming manner, and had an uneasy smile. "Relax, jeez. I'll make sure everyone behaves themselves. "

Lana narrowed her eyes, "You better." She said threateningly.

"Master." Came a smooth voice from behind Celia.

Celia jumped in surprise, but she thanked whatever divine beings there where for getting her out the conversation with Lana. Celia turned around to face the person asking for attention, and found Maribelle staring at her with a neutral expression. "*Ahem* Yes, Maribelle?" Celia asked.

Maribelle blinked, not caring that she saved her guild's master from a potentially precarious situation. "I'm going on an S-class job. A large pack a blizzardverns are terrorizing settlements around Mt. Hakobe. The reward is two million Jewels for slaying all of them." And with that, she started walking towards the door.

"Alright, be safe then… Don't over extend yourself." Celia said to the young woman.

Maribelle stopped at the door and looked over shoulder, "Of course, Master." Maribelle said calmly, and then opened the door and walked out.

Celia then turned back to her friend, who was waiting patiently for her. "You were saying?" She asked.

Lana rolled her eyes, "Anyway… Do you know where the two girls are? I would like to talk to them, and potentially undo any damage you may have done to them."

Ignoring her friends jab, Celia scanned the rows of tables, and found young Kagura in the back talking to some of the younger members of the guild, who were still in their late teens. "The purple haired one, Kagura, is right there. The red head is in the infirmary, and I'm about to go talk to her." Celia said while pointing at the purple-nette.

Lana sighed, "Well, I better go talk to her then. I'll let you handle the other for now, but please refrain from doing something too traumatizing. From what you told me, they lost everything, and they don't need any more stress in their lives at the moment." Lana pleaded.

Celia nodded wordlessly and made her way towards the infirmary, responding to greetings from the various guild members as well.

When she got to the door of the infirmary, she took a deep breath and opened the door gently. She was greeted to the sight of Rubina slowly eating an apple. She looked exhausted, with small bags under her eyes from crying yesterday.

Rubina looked over to see who had entered the room, and then took one more bite of the apple before setting it down on a tray with other eaten fruit.

Celia walked over the bed she was in, and sat in the same chair from yesterday.

Rubina was staring down at the bed sheets, "Thanks for the fruit…" Rubina said calmly with a hint of tiredness.

"You're welcome… Did you think about what I said yesterday?" Celia asked softly, remembering what Lana told her.

"Yeah…" Was Rubina's only response.

"Well… What do you say?"

Rubina was silent for a few moments, before turning her head towards the guild master, locking her ruby red eyes with Celia's ocean blue ones. While her face was a little exhausted, her eyes shined with determination, as if she has some goal she had to achieve.

"I accept" she said simply.

Celia smiled, "Well, get dressed then. If you're gonna live here for a while, you might as get familiar. Also, I'm going to need you for some paper work as well…"

Rubina blinked, before nodding her head. Celia then got up and walked to door, "I'll be outside… Take your time" She said, before closing the door.

* * *

This chapter was very dialogue heavy, and I hope it felt natural enough. I know not much happened in terms of action, but I felt it important to give some character development. I felt it would be easier to introduce the guild by using third person, rather than first person. I hope the descriptions were good enough, if not, I would appreciate some tips.


	6. End of the Beginning

**End of the Beginning**

I decided to stay at Mermaid Heel because the woman from yesterday, Celia, was right. I didn't have a place to go. I know could always try to go to Magnolia and try to join Fairy Tail, but I didn't want to go anywhere near there. I knew that Erza would eventually turn up there but... _images of a raging inferno, swords slashing through people, blood and screams everywhere, my sister's hateful eyes…_ flash into my head.

I know it's irrational to think that she'll hate me, but I just couldn't resolve myself to get over it… The dream Erza was right, I could have done something, but I didn't, and now hundreds of people are dead, and young children are forced into slavery. I don't deserve to be her sister.

Also, I did not want to interfere with things. I could potentially screw things over if I went to Fairy Tail at the moment. Before I died, I remember watching the end of the Zero arc of the anime, and I knew there was an invasion coming from Zeref's private empire from reading some of the manga. What if my presence causes someone crucial to die, or get permanently injured? I don't want to get involved too soon, unless it becomes unavoidable.

There is a storm coming, and I don't have the luxury of living a life like I did before. I need to get stronger, not just out of personal desire, but also out of necessity. I have the means and resources, and I plan to use them. Plus, I always wanted to be a wizard. Too bad no one will get any Harry Potter references here

But I have years to fully think out my game plan, because right now, I have someone waiting on me. The woman, Celia, left me new clothes by my bed.

I put on the new plain white dress, and I was amazed how good it felt. I forgot how good it felt to be in new clothing again. It felt weird to wear shoes again though. They were white slip-ons, and about a half size too big, but that was alright. I'll out grow them soon enough.

My steps were a little wobbly from half disuse and half because of me wearing new shoes for the first time since my last life. I reach up to the door knob, and turn, opening the door. Celia is leaning up against the wall across from the door, in a hallway.

Celia stops leaning, and starts walking down the hallway to another door at the end. She turns around and waves me over, "We don't have all day, Kid. So let's be quick with this."

I nod, "R-Right." I say curtly, and I quickly make my way over to her. She then opens the door, and I follow her through. I look around in amazement at the open space around me.

The walls were a very pretty blue and had Mermaids painted all over them. The air was filled with conversation from all the people sitting at tables. There was laughter coming from a bar, fully stocked with various alcoholic drinks. It seemed like all the occupants in the room were having a good time.

Something suddenly slams into me, breaking me out of my amazement, and I find myself being squeezed in a bear hug. A strangled sound escapes my mouth, and I'm finding it a little hard to breath. I then notice what's hugging me. A head of purple hair.

"Y-Your O-Okay! I-I thought you'd n-never wake up!" The purple head sobbed next to my ear. I'm then released from the bone crushing hug, and a teary eyed Kagura greets my sight.

I take a moment to catch my breath. "*cough* I'm sorry that *cough* I worried you… But who are you?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

Kagura calms down a little, her tears subside a bit, and her face flushes red. "M-My name is Kagura Mikazuchi… U-Um, what's yours?" She sounded a bit nervous.

I grin, and I resist the urge to extend my hand for a hand shake. "My name is Rubina, but people usually call me Rubi…" A cough from ahead interrupts the moment. It was Celia. "…Oh, right. I have to go do something for a little bit, but I'll be right back, 'kay?"

Kagura looks a little sad that I have to leave so soon, but she nods. "Are you going stay here?" She asks, her voice filled with hope.

"Yes." Is my response, and I run to catch up with Celia. I proceed to climb up two stair cases, and Celia opens up a door on the third floor. Inside is a room with a wooden desk that has large stacks of paper on it. The room also has filing cabinets that had some drawers opened, exposing tons of paper work.

Celia got a chair that was hidden in the countless stacks of paper from the side of the room, and puts it front of the desk. She then went to the other side of the desk, cleared some space off it, and then sat down in what looked like a very comfy leather chair. She then bent down, the sound of a cabinet opening could be heard, and Celia was mumbling something under her breath.

"Aha! There you are!" She suddenly exclaimed, and she popped up with a small packet of paper. She then looked at me, "Well, take a seat. This will only take a few minutes." She beckoned me over.

I walked over to the chair and sat down. She then pulled out a pen and gestured to the packet of paper. "Ok, this is a registration form, and if you are to be a ward of Mermaid Heel, I have to fill this out. I'm going to need some basic info like birthday, family, and other stuff like that."

I nodded, and I told her that I was born in early January, about my sister (I almost cried again), and some other general info. Her pen was flying through the pages and then she stopped.

She then looked at me. "The last thing is to come up a legal name for you. I can't just put a first name down, so we'll need to come up with a last name."

Well, this is a conundrum.

"Um… I never thought about a last name. I'd always thought that Nee-chan and I would get one when we got adopted…" My voice was unsure.

Celia looked at me and then sighed. "I'm not the best with coming up with names, so… How about scarlet? It's a shade of red, and your hair is red as well."

At her suggestion, I froze a little, before vigorously shaking my head, "NO! *ahem*… I mean no, I don't like that name." I lied, feeling a little embarrassed at my outburst.

I didn't deserve that name. To use that name would defile it.

Celia raised a brow at my outburst, and my cheeks flushed. "Sorry, I really didn't like that name." I said sheepishly.

She closed her eyes and sighed, before looking at me again, a smirk making its way on her face. "Well, now that I think about it… your hair looks nothing like scarlet… It looks more like crimson… So how about Crimson?"

' _Rubina Crimson? Hmm… I don't dislike like it, and I don't have any better ideas… I guess that could work...'_ I contemplated. _'Although, it is kind of lame I'm getting named after my hair color… Ah hell, why not?'_

I lock eyes with the older woman. "Sure." I say simply, and she quickly wrote on the piece of paper.

She then closed the packet, and she stood up, her smirk turning into a genuine smile. "Well, everything seems to in order then. Congratulations, from this day forth, you will be known as Rubina Crimson. Welcome to the Mermaid Heel family, Ki- I mean Rubina."

Later, I was able to take my bandages off, and a picture was taken for registration.

 **XXX**

I was sitting on a dock right on the lake, right behind me was the guild. My bare feet were in the water, which was just the right temperature. It was getting close to evening, and I was just staring at the lake, which apparently had a small island in the middle that I didn't notice before. It was nice.

Someone then sits right next me, and the sound of splashing water follows. I look to my right to find Kagura next to me, with a sad expression on her face. "Hey…" she says slowly, her voice conveying melancholy.

"Hi…" Is my only response.

She sighs, and also looks to the lake. "I miss Nii-san… I wish he was here."

Oh yeah, I haven't talked to her about what happened yet.

I look to her, my face taking on its own sad expression. "I miss Erza-nee…" I then look back to lake, and we sit there in silence for a few minutes.

"That girl who saved us… That was your sister, right?" she asked slowly.

I look to her to find her staring at me, her hazel eyes locking with mine. "Yeah… she was."

At my confirmation, a sad smile takes it way upon her face, and she strangely lets out a small giggle. "Me and Simon-nii would see you two around the village, and he would stare at your sister, and whenever I caught him doing it, his face would get really, really red. It was really funny when I caught him." She giggled again.

I don't remember much about Simon from the show, except that he dies and he was Kagura's brother. I didn't re-watch the show before I died, so I'm a little fuzzy on whether he liked my sister or not.

A smile makes it way on my face, and I end up letting a small laugh. "I think he might have had a crush on Erza-nee."

Kagura's face becomes confused. "What's a crush?" She asks innocently.

Oh, dear. This was awkward. "Oh, um… a crush is a… is when someone likes another person a lot, but they are too nervous to tell the other person." I try to explain in a way that she can understand.

Her face seems even more confused. "Know what. I'll tell you later." I say, not wanting to talk about this topic at the moment. "What do you plan on doing now?" I ask, quickly changing the topic.

Her confused face morphs into one of excitement. "I have magic! I'm going to be a mage!" she says excitedly with a large smile on her face. "Are you going to be one too? I saw you use magic before…"

I stare at her for a moment, before a grin forms on my face. "Yeah… I think I will." Her smile becomes even larger.

She then reaches over, her hand only having its pinkie finger extended. "Pinkie swear that we will become mages together?"

For the first time in a while, I feel like a child again. I lock my pinkie with hers, "Pinkie swear."

* * *

If Celia were more adept with kids, she would of noticed that Rubina is too mature for her age. Now she has a last name. Fun fact: I was originally going to name this story "Crimson" but I changed after finding out that the name is already taken. I wanted an original name, so I came up with "Swimming With Mermaids" instead. I'm not good at writing what children would say, so I kept Kagura's dialogue simple. I'm going to take a brake for a few days to recharge my creative batteries. I appreciate all the reviews and follows/favs that I got so far. I never thought there would be people who would like my writing.


	7. Moving Forward

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It is also my first attempt at time skips. Someone left a review asking about shipping. All I can say is that romance is not the main focus of this story. This is partly because I don't know how to write romance, and partly because any type of romance would be so far away at the moment. I'm not saying there will be no chance of romance, it's just unlikely that I will write it, due to lack of skill.**

* * *

 **Moving Forward**

 **August, X774**

It's been an interesting couple of weeks since I arrived at Mermaid Heel. Well, not entirely interesting. Since Kagura and I were six years old, we needed an education. Apparently, but not surprisingly, Fiore did not have a national public school system like most first world countries back on Earth. Big cities like Crocus had public schools, but smaller cities like Salice were not so lucky. Salice did have schools, but they were private, and thus cost more. So most people were home schooled.

I was set for math and English skills (16 years of schooling for the win). Of course, I tried to dumb myself down a little bit so that Kagura didn't feel left behind, but it was hard to pretend not to know basic math. My hand writing was still bad though, so maybe I'll put effort into making it look nice in this life.

The person who was teaching us was someone named Alana Webb. Who insisted that we just called her Lana for short. She is apparently a founding member of the guild, and is best friends with Celia. It is really amusing to see the two interact with each other. They were almost opposites. Celia is blunt, and to the point, ignoring any type of nuance. Lana is gentler, polite, and knows how to talk to children. I think I bewilder her sometimes, because of my adult mind making me not act like a six year old girl. Kagura, while obliviously not as mentally mature as me, is also very mature for her age.

Lana also has a daughter that she brings to the guild sometimes. Her name was Araña, and she was a very energetic four year old. She had the same curly bright green hair as her mother. She was also obsessed with spiders, and would always come dressed in some type of spider themed dress with her favorite spider plushy in hand. It was named Mr. Fuzzy by the way.

Anyway, my favorite classes were always history. I may have an engineering degree, but I was always a history buff. Learning about an entirely new world is something others dream of.

The kingdom of Fiore started out as a small settlement, which would later be known as the city of Crocus, almost 400 years ago, and was founded by Cornelius E. Fiore. Apparently, only nobility had access to proper magic training and education. If you were a peasant, you had to learn on your own. There were mentions of dragons, but they are considered myths and legends in the books. Magic guilds didn't become a thing until about 170 years ago, when a massive war broke out all over Ishgar, and trained mages were in high demand. So, thousands of magic users were recruited and formerly trained in the magic arts. This was known as The Great Magic War, and after the war was over, the veteran mages went on with the rest of their lives. Naturally, with so many more trained mages around, they were able to pass on their knowledge to others. Guilds started popping up, and the rest is history.

XXX

When it came to magic education, Kagura and I were taught very little, which was most likely due to our age. We were taught that magic is the physical embodiment of spirt, and is created when the physical spirit of a person connects with the spiritual flow of nature. We also learned it takes a lot of concentration. So we spent a lot of time meditating, which if I wasn't an adult mentally, I would not be able to do easily. Surprisingly, Kagura was actually very good at it for someone her age. Although, considering how she acted in the show, I shouldn't be too surprised that she is able to calm herself so easily.

Meditating wasn't the only the thing we did. Celia made us exercise like it was going out of style. We did a lot of running, stretching, and swimming. Celia was particularly passionate about swimming…

"Why are we doing so much swimming?" I asked, panting heavily. Kagura was next to me in the water, floating on her back, also out of breath.

Celia was sitting on an inflatable floating chair, sipping on a drink, in a modest, green one piece swimsuit. Which was surprising, considering that she had an awesome body. After spending a few weeks around the woman, I've learned that she wasn't particularly shy about her body. I think she has more edgy swimsuits, but I suspect Lana threw a fit and forced her to wear something more modest. She was also wearing a white sun hat and dark brown sunglasses.

Celia stopped sipping her drink, "We can't call ourselves Mermaid Heel, and not know how to swim." She said with a sense of a pride. Her face then turned thoughtful, "I don't think I told you two why we are called Mermaid Heel… Well, brats, it's story time!" She then put her drink in one of the cup holders on the chair, and then beckoned us over.

Me and Kagura swam up to her floating chair, and rested our arms on it. Celia then began her tale. "It all starts with the mermaid of Lake Sirena…" Her hands glowed and water rushed upwards from the lake, and formed into the shape of a mermaid about ten feet away. "The story goes that a mermaid used to live in this very lake, in a hidden cave under the center island. Mermaids are said to be the masters of water magic. Nothing had the control over water like a mermaid did…" The mermaid was causing spheres of water float all around it, making them doing various tricks, before the all the spheres fell back into the lake.

"Well, back when Salice was a very small village, over 150 years ago, a fire demon went on a rampage, burning down huge areas of forest…" Water rose out of the lake, forming into a demonic creature, with a large body and horns. "The demon stumbled upon Salice, and started to burn everything, and everyone, and the ashes started poisoning the lake…" Water from the lake formed into a model village, froze into ice suddenly, and then the demon made of water started attacking it. "Seeing the peaceful villagers in peril, and its home being defiled, the mermaid showed itself, and fought the demon." The forms of the mermaid and demon started fighting. Violently.

"After hours of fighting, the mermaid won, but at a cost…" The form of the demon splashed back into the water. Suddenly a massive amount of water came out of the lake, and then rapidly froze. The giant mass of ice was hollowed, and the mermaid went inside. "The mermaid used too much magic, and was severely injured. It returned to its secret cave, and died, but not without leaving a parting gift. It used whatever magic it had left to purify the lake, making the waters a sparkling blue, and forever beautiful... The lake was name Sirena in honor of the mermaid." The ice cave and the mermaid splashed back into the lake. Celia then smiled, "That was my favorite story as a kid, and when I was thinking of a name for the guild, there were none more fitting than Mermaid Heel." She said with a nostalgia filled voice.

I was awestruck by what I just saw. Seeing magic used like this was a surreal experience. I looked to my side to see Kagura with wide, wonder filled eyes, and the biggest smile I've ever seen on her.

Celia then smirked, "Well, break's over, I wanna see five more laps." She said, with slight amusement in her voice.

Well, that killed the mood.

Me and Kagura groaned simultaneously, and started doing laps. "Hey don't complain to me! You two said you wanted to be mages, and I'm going to make you the best damn mages you can be. You'll be lean, mean, magic machines when I'm done with you!" She shouted, before picking up her drink, and started sipping on it once more.

Later that day, Celia was scolded by Lana for overworking us. I would be lying if I said I had any sympathy.

XXX

 **January 4th, X775**

Today was my seventh birthday. The first one without Erza.

I was sitting alone on a snowbank right by the frozen lake, watching people skate on its frozen surface, and kids from the village playing in the snow. I was wearing a red winter jacket with matching snow pants and boots. I didn't pick out the outfit, and I looked like a tomato to be honest. Thankfully, I was at least wearing black gloves. I have a sneaking suspicion that Celia picked out both mine, and Kagura's coats. Because I saw Kagura earlier, wearing all purple, and she looked like an eggplant.

I sighed, and I suddenly found myself no longer alone. Kagura had plopped down right next me. "Why so sad, Rubi?" Her voice was concerned.

We have gotten really gotten close these past few months. We didn't even use the suffixes that this world was fond of. The guild had no other kids, besides me, Kagura, and Araña. But it was mostly just me and Kagura most of time, as Araña came about three times a week. Most members were in their twenties and early thirties. Some members were pregnant, but by the time their children are of age to hold a conversation, Kagura and I will be in our early teens. It's not that the guild isn't welcoming (which it is), it's just that most young adults have better things to do than hang out with little kids all day.

"I turned seven today…" I say dejectedly, still looking at the frozen lake.

I hear Kagura gasp next to me. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday!?" She exclaimed loudly.

"I'm sorry… I forgot…" I say while bringing my knees up to my chest. I look up to the grey sky, snow was falling, "Erza-nee would always find a way to make this day special, whether it be giving me her candy stash, or somehow acquiring a new toy… She would always go out of her way to make it special, even though we didn't have much."

Kagura stayed silent after my little confession.

I look back down and close my eyes. "It's not the same without her… I wish she wa-"I'm suddenly cut off by full body hug and my eyes snap open. It was Kagura.

I'm stunned.

The hug feels like it lasted an eternity, but in reality, it was only a minute at most. Kagura lets go, and I turn towards her, my eyes were very wide.

She was staring at me, her hazel eyes filled with determination. "I may not be your sister, but that doesn't I can't make this day special for ya" She said with confidence.

I blinked owlishly for a moment, before a large smile makes it way upon my face. "Thank you." I say appreciably.

Unfortunately, Kagura didn't get to respond.

"How curious… Why are you two not joining the other children?" A smooth, elegant voice says behind us, interrupting the moment.

Kagura and I both jump, and snap our heads towards the offending voice to find a pair of emerald green eyes staring at us with curiosity. It was Maribelle Lockhart.

My heart stopped. She was considered the strongest mage in the guild, and would often perform on stage with a violin, before going out on dangerous missions. Kagura absolutely worshiped her, and I would be lying if I said I didn't admire her myself. She would sometimes glance at us after her performances, but never really spoke to us. I don't know what type of magic she uses, but I heard she is a master swordswoman.

She was currently wearing a pure white coat, with white pants and boots. She didn't have her usual pony tail, and her long blonde hair went down to her hips, and curled a little bit at the bottom. She was wearing a pair of white ear muffs, and a white scarf around her neck. She practically blended in with the snow.

"U-Uh" was my only response, and I was internally hitting myself for sounding like an idiot. Kagura was silent. I think her mind was broken from having her idol talk to her. I snap out of my stupor, and try to give a proper response. "T-Today is my birthday, b-but Erza-nee is not h-here." I say, my voice filled with nervousness and a hint of sadness.

Her emerald eyes soften a little, "Hmm, it sounds like you miss her a lot, and wherever she is right now, she must feel the same… But, I doubt she would want you to be melancholy because of her." Her voice was comforting, but never lost its elegant quality. She blinked and then closed her eyes and nodded her head slightly downward. "I apologize for my rudeness, but what I am trying to say is that you should not let what has happened to you decide your actions, and how you feel. Do not rely on luck or misfortune, but instead rely on your own choices, and let them lead your existence towards the future instead."

…Well, that was inspirational.

She opened her eyes again, "I have been watching you two for a while, and you remind me of myself when I was child. Despite facing hardship, you two have not given up yet, and are determined to move forward, despite your current limitations." She then turned around, and started walking away.

She looked back over her shoulder, "Do not lose that drive, and you two will go far. That I am sure of." The snow fall became heavier and she started walking away, her white outline disappearing more and more before disappearing completely.

There's a moment of silence.

"She's amazing…" Kagura breathes out.

I make a noise of agreement.

XXX

 **March, X775**

It was spring again, and Kagura and I where now both seven.

Her birthday was on March 7th if you were wondering.

The sun was out, the birds were chirping, the animals were awaking, and the plants were budding anew.

Me, Kagura and Celia were by the lake front. Kagura and I were both wearing plain white t-shirts. I was wearing tan shorts, while Kagura was wearing grey ones. Celia was wearing a light blue dress. All three of us were bare foot.

Celia was standing in front of us, with an optimistic smirk on her face. "Ok brats, after many months of hard exercise, and long meditations. I have determined that you two are ready to start actual magic training!" She exclaimed.

Both of us froze.

"Are you certain, Master?" I say in a cautious voice, unsure if she is serious or not.

After spending several months here, I stopped calling her Celia-san, and started calling her master. It felt weird calling someone master at first, but it soon became natural after a while.

Her smirk got bigger, "Of course. You two have earned it."

I'm sad to admit that I squeed, and started jumping around in excitement. I'm thankful for Kagura joining me in my excitement so that I wasn't just embarrassing myself.

I bet a million dollars that anyone would do the same if they were given the opportunity to learn magic.

I'm gonna to be a freaking wizard!

* * *

Next chapter is going to be a challenge, and I might re-watch Fairy Tail Zero for some inspiration on how they will learn how to use magic. Maribelle was very fun to write, as she is very proper with her speaking, and does not use contractions. I already had Rubina's magic planned out since I first conceived this story in my head months ago, but I'm curious on what others will think it will be.

I got to stop editing chapters at 4 in the morning. I always end up missing something.


	8. Sparks

**I liked writing this chapter. It was fun because it's the first chapter where Rubina actually uses magic. Her magic was actually hinted in chapter one.**

* * *

 **Sparks**

Kagura and I were sitting in meditative positions, our eyes were closed.

"Ok if you two want to use magic, you must concentrate first. Magic requires concentration and will power." Celia instructed. "Feel the ethernano enter your body, filling up your core. Feel the power within you, concentrate on it, and will it out of your body. But make sure you don't force all of it out, just a small amount." She said calmly.

Despite being blunt and sarcastic most of the time, Celia was actually a pretty decent instructor. This is the longest I've seen her gone without making a sarcastic remark. I think it might be due to how serious the situation is. Apparently, I used magic with explosive results when she found us. I'm guessing she is here to make sure that doesn't happen. I really don't want to make a crater this time….

"All mages have a type of magic that they have a natural affinity towards. This is the magic that a mage has the easiest time utilizing. Feel inside yourself, feel that affinity." I hear Celia say.

Following Celia's instructions, I concentrate on my core, trying to feel what she was describing. At first I felt nothing, but that changed after a moment. I felt an energy within me, in my chest area to be specific. I felt the energy fill my body, it felt highly energetic and warm, and I was experiencing a tingling sensation.

"Whoa…" My mediation is interrupted by Kagura's voice. I open my eyes, and I'm greeted to the sight of her floating slowly upwards. The air around her was distorting from an invisible force.

"As I suspected, gravity magic. Very good defensive magic, but could also be used for offence if applied correctly." I hear Ceila say.

Kagura was still slowly floating upwards, getting higher and higher, and her face went from wonder to slight panic. "U-Um, how do I get down!?" She said in panic, her arms started flailing. It was like a scene from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.

I started to giggle, and I let out a laugh.

Kagura's arm flailing increased in intensity, and her face got red. "Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"

I started laughing even more at ridiculousness of the situation.

"Master! How do I stop!?" Her panic was increasing. She was about ten feet and climbing at this point.

"The same way you got into that situation, Kid. Just calm down and concentrate. Will it to stop. Don't worry, I'll catch ya". Celia said calmly, with a hint of amusement.

Kagura closed her eyes, started taking deep breathes, and started to concentrate. After a moment, the distortions in the air suddenly disappeared, and Kagura fell. She was promptly caught by a tendril of water and was lowered to the ground. Somehow, she wasn't soaking wet, which was most likely due to Celia not letting the water soak into her clothing.

She leveled a glare at me, her cheeks were flushed. "That wasn't funny, Rubi!" She said with embarrassment and a hint of anger.

I giggled, "It was a little funny. You were like a balloon!" I say cheerfully.

"I think I'll agree with her on that one, Kagura-chan. Reversing gravity like that really did make you sort of like a balloon." Celia said with amusement, and she had a smirk was on her face. Celia never uses suffixes after people's names, unless she is teasing, or if it's someone she respects.

Kagura's face turned even redder, "Master!" She shouted indignantly. Kagura was really cute when she pouted.

Celia let out an amused chuckle, before turning her attention to me. "Ok, now that Kagura figured out her magic, it's your turn Rubi."

I took a moment to compose myself, before nodding. I close my eyes and start to concentrate on the energy I felt before. The tingling sensation returned and I found the energy once more. I hold out my hand and will the energy to go to it. The energy doesn't budge, and I put a more force into my will. That got a reaction, and the energy moved a little. I felt my eyebrows furrow in concentration, and sweat forming on my forehead.

With one last hard mental push, I felt the energy rush through my arm. My hand starts tingling intensely, and I hear a loud crackling noise. I open my eyes and immediately notice the red tinted arcs of electricity dancing around my hand. All I could do is stare.

"Hmm, lightning magic, a very offensive magic with some defensive benefits. I guess that explains the crater… Although, I don't think I've seen that particular color before…" I hear Celia say.

I'm still staring at the arcs of electricity with a neutral expression. Internally, I'm figuratively hitting my head on a table. How ironic; of course I would get magic that represents the very thing that killed me. I bet there is some divine being out there that is laughing at me right now. Of all the types of magic that are out there, why did I get this one?

It's not that I'm disappointed that I didn't get some kind of super obscure, one of a kind magic. It's just that when you get killed by something, you tend to hold a grudge against it, even if it's a highly charged bolt of plasma that can reach speeds up to about a third of the speed of light. In this life, I became super paranoid whenever there was a thunderstorm. I would make sure I was not statically charged, and away from any type of metal. Getting hit by lightning, dying, and waking up in a whole new world is not the most fun thing in the world. I already left one set of family and friends behind, I didn't want to leave another. Also, why was it tinted red? I'm like a trifecta of red now, with red hair, red eyes, and now red magic.

"Um, Rubi? Are you okay? You are kind of quiet." I'm interrupted from my musing by Kagura, and I look up to see her concerned face.

I blink, before putting a smile on my face. The lighting that covering my hand stopped, and my hand was a little numb. "Yeah, I was just thinking of stuff… No need to be worried." I reassure her.

"Ok brats, we'll continue this tomorrow. You have the rest of the day to yourselves. Do not practice your magic without me or Lana watching. Or else…" Celia said, her voice turning slightly threatening with her last sentence.

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to get over my past grievances with lightning. I can't afford to be bogged down by it.

 **XXX**

I was sitting in the same spot from yesterday, but I was wearing a simple white dress today. Celia was wearing a similar dress from yesterday, but the color now matched her sea-foam green hair. Kagura wasn't here though.

"Um, Master, where is Kagura?" I ask with curiosity.

She shrugs a little, "Elemental magic is more my thing, and I determined that Lana would be a better teacher for her in that particular magic." She said casually. "Anyway, the only thing you need to do to control elemental magic is to know your element."

"What do you mean by that, Master?" I ask with confusion.

"It means that you must know your element. Like what are its characteristics. Its strengths and weaknesses. The better understanding of your element you have, the better you can control it." She said.

"Each element is different, and to keep this short, I'll only talk about the five basic elemental magic types: fire, wind, earth, water and lightning." She picked up a stick that was on the ground and started drawing a picture of a flame in the ground.

"Fire is wild, and has a constant need to feed itself and get bigger. Getting it going is easy, but making it stop is the real challenge. Fire is also very passionate, and a lot of fire users reflect that. Naturally, it is a very good offensive magic."

She then drew some lines that curled at the end. "Wind is free spirited. It is very easy to make it do something, but it is also easy to stop it. A lot wind mages can use their own wind to fly, and be as free as the element they are controlling. Wind is neither offensively or defensively orientated."

Next, she drew a picture of a rock. "Earth can be solid and tough, or soft and loose. It is passive, and very heavy. Because of this heaviness, it takes great strength and will power to move and mold it. Generally, earth users tend to be large like the earth, and physically strong. Earth magic has great defensive strength."

She then drew some wavy lines, and smirked. "Water, my personal favorite, goes with the flow. It takes the shape of whatever container it sits in. Water is generally peaceful and supports life, but when push comes to shove, it can also be a very destructive force. A wild fire can be stopped, but a tsunami is nearly unstoppable. Water is a very flexible element that has good offensive and defensive capabilities.

Finally, she drew a lightning bolt. "Lightning is very energetic, volatile, and powerful. This power and energy makes it very stubborn. Controlling lightning requires a great amount of will power. Without a strong will, it does what it wants to do. Of the basic five, it is perhaps the most dangerous." She finished.

She then sighed, and then her expression turned serious. "So when you practice your magic, make sure that your will is strong, and that you are focused on exactly what you want to do with it. I cannot stress how dangerous lightning magic can be. So do not practice without my supervision." She said seriously.

Well, that didn't make me nervous. Nope, not at all.

I gulped, "Y-Yes Master." I say nervously.

Her face loses its seriousness, and her trademark smirk makes its way upon her face. "Good. Now let's start with the basics, shall we." She said in an eerily cheerful voice.

I had a feeling that I wasn't going have a fun time. And I was correct. I spent hours conjuring lightning to my arms, and trying to make it behave. It was a very unpleasant experience.

I walked into the dorm room that me and Kagura were sharing, more exhausted than I have ever been in this new life. I had bandages covering the electrical burns left from hours of practice. I ignored Kagura's concerned shout of surprise at my appearance, and I immediately made my way towards my bed. Once I reached it, I promptly passed out.

It was official, electricity sucked.

 **XXX**

 **April, X775**

A few weeks have passed, and I could successfully conjure lightning to my arms without burning myself, and I could now conjure lightning to my hands with ease. Kagura improved her magic skills as well. She figured out how to increase and decrease gravity, but she didn't have much control on how strong or weak she could make the gravity yet. But, she was getting better every day. To be honest, I was a little jealous. My time was spent getting first degree burns, and hers was spent meditating and concentrating.

I was currently standing about 25 feet away from some metal rods sticking straight out of the ground. They were currently aligned in a neat row. Celia was standing next me in her fish scale dress.

Today was going to be my first attempt at an actual lighting spell, and I was genuinely excited. And who wouldn't be? It's not every day you get to shoot lighting out your hands like Emperor Palpatine (insert evil laughter).

Along with learning how to conjure lightning to my hands without burning myself, I've been provided with a book on lightning magic. It was filled with various tips, spells, and techniques. Apparently, it is much easier for beginners to use lightning magic when doing some type of body movement or pose, and the book had some basic forms. Punching and kicking were among these. The body movements and poses helped guide lightning towards your intended target. Masters don't need them and can simply guide lightning bolts just by their will alone, and can do it standing still if they want.

I wasn't skilled enough to enhance my punches and kicks without injuring myself, so I decided to work on the more long ranged stuff first. That's why there was metal rods in the ground. They wouldn't explode into shrapnel or catch on fire if I hit them, and they would also act as lighting rods, so that I won't accidently hit something else. Lightning, more specifically electricity, likes to take the path of least resistance to ground, and the metal rods are that path.

The spell I'm going to try is aptly named "Lightning Bolt". When I first saw it in the book, I almost had a laughing fit, as images of a certain internet video came to mind. I never thought I would be in a situation where I would be yelling "Lightning Bolt!" in a serious matter. One of the downsides of this new life is that no one will get my references. Anyway, I hope I don't get too injured with this spell like I have been these past few weeks. Having first degree electrical burns all over your arms and hands was not fun.

I take a deep breathe, and I feel the magic power within me. I focus on one of the metal rods, and I got into a ready position. I close my right hand except for my index and middle fingers, which are pointing outwards. I channel the magic power to my arm, and arcs of red electricity start sparking along it. I point my fingers towards the metal rod.

' _Well… Here goes nothing_ '

" **Lightning Bolt!"** I shout, willing the electricity to shoot out my fingertips, and hit the target.

Instead of a bolt of lightning like I was expecting, a sudden explosion and a loud boom sends me flying back a few feet. Luckily, I was caught by a tendril of water, and gently set on the ground.

"Ow…." I groan. My arm was stinging, and it was also slightly numb. My ears were ringing a bit. I push myself up, my arms were a bit wobbly, and my heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest.

I look up to see Celia with a concerned expression. "You okay, Kid?"

I let out groan, and inspect myself. The dress I was wearing was completely singed, and my body was now completely dirty. My two fingers have fresh first degree burns on them. I'll reiterate, electricity absolutely sucks. I look back up to Celia, "Yeah… I'm alright." I say reluctantly.

A smirk makes its way upon her face. "Well, it looks like your magic is a little more potent than we thought… I think you need to use about half as much power and twice the amount of concentration."

"Yes, Master…" I say, and I get to my feet. I slowly walk over to where I was standing, and get ready to go again. I get into a ready position, and I summon about half the amount of magic power from before. I close my eyes, and tune out my surroundings. I open my eyes, my arm starts sparking up again, and I get tunnel vision on my target. I point my fingers towards the metal rod

I take deep breaths to calm my adrenaline rush.

" **Lightning Bolt!"** I yell once more, and I feel the energy flow rapidly through my arm.

A bolt of crimson lightning shoots out of my finger tips and instantly hits the rod, causing a small explosion, picking up some dust.

The dust settles to reveal the metal rod slightly bent

I'm frozen for a second, before my brain comprehends the feat I just accomplished. I start laughing with pure joy and start jumping around like a lunatic. That was coolest thing I've ever done in my life.

Celia started clapping, and had a genuine smile on her face. "Congratulations, Kid. You've managed to do your first spell." She said with a proud voice. "But, now you got to be able to do that spell flawlessly now before I allow you to move on the more advanced stuff. We should also work on your hand to hand combat skills as well, so we can work on the more physical spells."

At this point, I didn't care about the prospect of all the hard work ahead of me. I was too excited about shooting lightning out my fingers like Azula.

I ended up practicing the spell about seven more times, with mixed results, before I got exhausted and had to stop for the day. Sadly, I got some more additions to my burn collection.

But hey, at least I can shoot lightning now.

* * *

I hope my description on the other elements was clear enough. I also hope her progression was realistic enough. I don't want her to become too powerful, too fast. I have some more plans for her magic in the future. I don't want to reveal too much, but the red tint is not just for aesthetics. I would like to thank all you that left positive feedback so far. It has made writing chapters easier.

Also, lightning is freaking scary. A bolt of lightning can travel up to about 1/3 the speed of light, and can reach temperatures of over 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Hotter than the surface of the sun.


	9. The Ace's Apprentices

**I am now over 20k words!**

* * *

 **The Ace's Apprentices**

May, X775

I've been practicing the lightning bolt spell every day for the past few weeks, and I think I got it down pretty well. I may not be able to do it instantaneously, but I can do it pretty fast. According to the book, the spell is supposed to be the most basic, beginner level spell that shouldn't take more than three weeks to master. It took me four and a half. I blame my magic, because apparently it seems to be extra stubborn, and extra explosive as well. It took me a week and a half to stop exploding myself accidentally. I'm not just saying this as an excuse, it's a legitimate reason. Celia even pointed out my magic's fondness for being too potent and exploding in my face. I feel like that pink haired girl from Familiar of Zero. Maybe I should yell "explosion" and see what happens.

…Actually, that's a terrible idea.

Comparatively, Kagura has improved way more than me. She has more control on the degree in which she can increase and decrease gravity. Of course, she can't make gravity bone crushing yet, and she still has ways to go in regards to how long she can keep up her magic, and how big of an area she can affect, but at least her magic doesn't explode in her face all the time.

Another issue I need to address is close combat skills. I have none, and so those Kagura. We've been so focused on improving our magic that we haven't bothered to work on that yet. We still did our daily exercise routines, but physical fitness can only get you so far in a fight. I asked Celia if she would train me in some close quarters combat, but she refused, saying something around the lines of, "I'm not gonna teach you everything, Kid. Why don't you ask around the guild?" The problem with that, was that Kagura and I didn't really interact with the other guild members much. We spent most of our time with Celia and Lana.

I was also thinking about learning how to use a weapon as well. I know that once I finally get complete control over my magic, that a weapon would complement it greatly. Also, knowing how to use a weapon would come in handy in a situation in which magic isn't necessary or not possible. Kagura had the same idea as me, and we decided that we would find a weapons instructor.

XXX

I was sitting at a table in the far right corner of the guild hall. Sitting at the table with me was Kagura and Araña. Kagura was wearing a white dress, with black leggings. On her head was the white bow she always wore. She looked very similar to how she did when we first met on that fateful day…

Araña was wearing an amber dress that had spider web designs on it. She looked like a chibi version of her mother. Her hair was the same color as Lana's, with the same curls and dark brown eyes. On the table was her favorite stuffed spider, Mr. Fuzzy, and she was currently drawing pictures with some crayons.

The guild hall had a lot of people in it, and the sound of multiple conversations filled the air.

"So Kagura, you have any ideas on who can teach us how to use a weapon?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "I've seen some guild members carrying weapons, but I don't know them that well, and I don't want to be a burden to someone that barely knows me…"

Before I could respond, Araña interjects.

"Are ya gonna learn to use swords? That's so cool! You'll be like Sam'rai, and be like swish and swoosh, and fight all the bad guys!" She said excitedly.

"Well, Araña-chan, we are looking for someone to teach us how to use a weapon, and swords are definitely an option…" I respond to the excited five year old.

"I wonder if Momma will let me use a sword…" she fantasized out loud.

Knowing Lana, she probably won't be let her anywhere near any type of weapon, especially a sword. Poor girl.

"Maybe she will if you ask nicely…" Kagura said.

A wide grin makes its way upon Araña's face. "You really th'nk so!" She said excitedly.

Before Kagura could respond, the guild erupts into cheers and whistles. Kagura and I turn our attention to the cause of the cheers and whistles to see Maribelle Lockhart walk on the stage that the guildhall had. She had her blonde hair in a ponytail, and was wearing her white dress and bolero jacket.

She held out her arms, and a violin and bow appeared in her hands with a gold flash. She then brought the violin up to her chin, and started playing a melodious tune.

I always enjoyed it when she performed on stage. It was one of the things that Kagura and I admired about Maribelle. She was always the picture of elegance and grace. Even though she was considered the ace of Mermaid Heel, she never bragged or boasted. Kagura aspired to be like her, and I don't blame her. She did look pretty bad-ass, with her white dress, proper posture, and her two… swords…

…That gives me an idea…

"Psst… Kagura" I whisper loudly.

She looks turns her head towards me, "What?" She whispers back.

"Why don't we ask Maribelle-san to teach us?" I whisper excitedly.

Kagura's eyes grow wide, "W-What?" she whispered loudly in shock. She quickly recovers. "Why would you consider that!? She would never teach us! We are not worth her time!" She argued quietly.

It looks like Kagura puts her on a very high pedestal and doesn't consider herself worthy of her idol's time. I completely understand, but she did say something about watching us months ago, and we are looking for a combat instructor. So why not ask the best?

I look Kagura in the eyes, "I know that she's your hero Kagura, and I admire her too, but we need someone to teach us. And it can't hurt to ask… You never know, she might accept." I say quietly.

The sound of clapping suddenly fills the air, and interrupts our conversation. We look back to the stage to see Maribelle bow, and then walk off stage with a small smile on her face. I watch her walk along the side of the room. I knew where she was heading, which was door to go out on a job.

I grab suddenly grab Kagura's wrist, "Come on, this our chance!" I exclaim and pull her along. I ignore Kagura's shout of "Wait! Stop!"

Maribelle was just about to open the door when we caught her.

"Maribelle-san!" I exclaim suddenly, and I feel Kagura freeze a little.

She stopped and turned around, her face was neutral, but her emerald eyes had curiosity in them. "Yes?" she inquired.

I was now starting to regret my decision, and I was starting to grow nervous like Kagura.

"U-Um, w-we were wondering, if… if" I stumble out nervously, before taking a deep breath, and closing my eyes. "We were wondering if you would teach us how to us a weapon!" I say quickly.

There is a moment of silence.

I open my eyes, and look up to see her studying us, her eyes switching between Kagura and me. I feel my cheeks flush, and I'm pretty sure Kagura is mortified that I potentially embarrassed her in front of her idol. "I-It's okay if you d-don't accept" I stammer out nervously.

She studies us for a few more moments, before a small smile appears on her face. "I was wondering when you two would ask me something like this… Very well, I accept. Meet me in my room at the dorms one week from now at 10 o'clock, and do not be late." She said, her eyes filled with amusement. She then turned around, and looked over her shoulder. "I would suggest putting your hair in a style that will not get in your face, and bring loose clothing as well." She said before opening the door and left.

I was stunned that actually worked, and I look back at Kagura to see the shocked expression on her face. She then snaps out of her stupor, and glares at me. "Never do something like that to me again, Rubi!" She exclaimed.

"Hey take it easy, Kagura!" I say with a hint of nervousness. "It would have taken you years to ask her, and I saw an opportunity and took it... Look at the bright side, we just got Maribelle-san to agree to teach us." I explain with a large grin on my face.

Her glare disappears, and she takes a moment to contemplate my words. "We got Maribelle to teach us…" She breathes out, before a large grin appears on her face. "We got Maribelle to teach us!" she shouted excitedly.

I'm suddenly squeezed in an excited hug and I let out a choking noise.

"Well I got to say, you brats have a lot of gall to ask Maribelle for apprenticeships like that... I'm impressed." Came Celia's voice from behind us.

We quickly separate and look to see Celia with a huge, amused smirk on her face. "In fact, I think you two are the first ones to actually ask her." She said with amusement. "Who would have thought that the two seven year olds would be the ones to finally ask Maribelle to teach them something?" She then chuckled. "I wish you two the best of luck. Knowing her meticulous nature, you two are in for a fun time." She then went up the stairs that led to her office.

Well, that wasn't foreboding.

XXX

1 week later

Kagura and I were walking down the hallways of the dorm. The floor was made of hard wood, and the walls were a tan color. The dorms sat right on the lake like the guild, but was only two stories tall. But it was significantly longer than the guild though. Celia said that Maribelle's room was on the second floor.

I was wearing a light blue dress with black leggings, and blue shoes. Even though everything about me in this new life seems to be based around the color red, it is not my favorite color. I personally prefer blue, but unfortunately, I don't get much say in picking out my clothes most of the time. Being a child again sucked. I never thought seven years ago, before I died, that I would mostly be wearing dresses. But after years of wearing them, I've gotten used them. I still miss wearing t-shirts and shorts all the time, but that can't be helped.

Kagura was wearing a similar outfit to me, but her dress and shoes were white. Instead of having her hair in the "Hime" cut that she always wore, she put her hair into a pony tail, and her white bow was on her head as well.

Since last year, my hair has grown to a little bit past my shoulders, and I didn't really style it. I never really styled my hair in my last life, so I didn't bother doing it in this life. But Maribelle suggested that I style it so that it won't get in my face. So I went to Lana, because there was no way I trusted Celia with something like this, and asked her to help style my hair. I never asked someone to do something like this, and Lana was slightly amused at my flustered face.

I didn't know much about hair styles, but I distantly remembered Erza putting her hair in a braid in the anime when she was a kid, and it looked good on her, so I figured it would look good on me. So that's exactly what I did, and I put my bangs to my side. Looking in a mirror, I looked like a chibi Erza.

We reached Maribelle's door which, not surprisingly, was painted white. She definitely had a white theme going. We stop at the door, and we look at each other nervously, before raising our hands to knock on the door. But before we could, it suddenly opens, revealing Maribelle. This made us both jump back in surprise.

She stares at us, and a small smile appears on her face. "Just on time. Please, come in." She said politely. She then walked back into her room, "Please close the door behind you, and I would appreciate it if you did not touch anything." She said without looking back.

Kagura walks in first, and I follow, gently closing the door behind me. I stop and look around the room in wonder. The room was about twice as big as our room, and the walls were painted a pure white. Every type of sword from rapiers, to scimitars, to katanas, and even a great sword were on the walls. There were also various paintings as well.

There was a queen sized bed in the back with white sheets and wooden dressers next to it. Mounted above the bed was a long Japanese style sword that had a white sheath, a red handle, and had a gold pommel and gold studs along the hilt. The weirdest thing about it was that it was wrapped with bandages around the area where the hand guard met the sheath. It seemed strangely familiar.

There was a door on the left side of the room that most likely led to the bath room. On the right side was four, white living room chairs surrounding a coffee table. Maribelle was sitting in one of those chairs, and was staring at me and Kagura, who was also looking around the room.

"Please take a seat. We have much to discuss." She said calmly, and beckoned us other.

We quickly walk over to her and sit down.

There is a moment of silence. Her face turned serious, "You have requested to be my apprentices. And if you are to be my apprentices, I expect both of you to learn what I teach you with no complaints. Do you understand?" She asked.

I nervously nod my head, and I'm joined by Kagura.

She studies us, before her serious expression is replaced by a small smile. "Good. Now let us go over what you will be learning over the next few years… I am a master of many styles of sword combat, and as my apprentices, you will be taught all of them of them as well. Once I deem you two to be proficient in every style I teach, you will then choose the styles that you are best at and master them. Is that understood?" She inquired.

We both nod

"Before we begin, do you have any questions?" She inquired.

I looked over at the sword that was over her bed, its appearance and familiarity bugging me. But before I could ask about it, Kagura beat me to it.

"What is that sword over there?" She asked curiously while pointing at the sword. It seems that she took interest in it as well, most likely out of curiosity, rather than having a sense of déjà vu.

Maribelle looked over shoulder to see where Kagura pointed, and looked back. "That is a nodachi that I received on an S-class job as a reward a while ago. The sword requires using a style that I am not particularly fond of, and the sword is also a bit too destructive for my taste. But it is a finely crafted sword, one of the best I have seen, so I decided to mount it on my wall for now. It has a name as well. Archenemy, or The Blade of Resentment. When it is unsheathed, it becomes quite... catastrophic."

Archenemy… wasn't that Kagura's sword?

She then looked at me. "Do you have any questions or concerns, Rubina?"

Well, I had a question, but Kagura took it. So I decide to just shake my head.

With that, she got up and started walking towards the door. "Come. We have much to do." We followed her, and we eventually arrive outside. We then follow her to the small field that was in front of the dorms. She then stopped and turned around and looked at us.

"The first sword you will be learning how to use, is the rapier." She said, before holding out her hands, and two sword like objects appeared in a quick gold flash. On closer inspection, they were child sized fencing swords. "But before you wield any type of blade, you must learn proper safety and technique." She then gently tossed the two fencing swords towards us, landing at our feet.

Kagura and I hesitantly picked them up.

"First lesson: Posture."

This was going to be a long day...

And a long day it was. We spent hours learning the proper way to hold a sword, and the proper way to stand. Maribelle gave a very detailed lecture on sword safety, while simultaneously correcting our stances with a meter stick that she somehow summoned.

I had a sneaking suspicion it was a form of Requip.

And that's how we spent our first day of training. Standing still and getting whacked by a meter stick if we stepped out of line. Maribelle did not joke around.

It was fun...

* * *

I feel like I could of written more of Araña, but I don't know how to write really young children well. As time goes on, I'll be giving her more dialogue. I decided to have Rubina learn how to use a sword, because that's what I would do (she is based off me after all) and it would be a complement to her magic if applied correctly. She won't be a pure sword fighter, but she will use one if need be. I just got to decide what type of sword to give her. Also, this is the first appearance of Kagura's sword, Archenemy. I was going to write more, but I kinda ran out of steam at the end, and I realized that I need to take a small break.

I hope someone gets my Familiar of Zero reference. For those not familiar to the show, it's about a guy from our world being summoned to another world as a girls summon. I would give a better summary, but that's what the internet is for.


	10. Conversations

**This is by far, my longest chapter. This chapter is another third person chapter.**

* * *

 **Conversations**

 **July, X775**

It was late afternoon.

Two child sized figures, wearing identical fencing outfits, were currently dueling in a field with child sized fencing swords.

Standing twenty yards away, was Maribelle. She had an analytical face as she observed her two students duel.

"Having fun there, Maribelle?" came a voice from behind her.

Maribelle didn't bother to look back at the source of the voice, and continued analyzing her students. "Hello, Master." Was her only reply.

Celia walked up beside her with her usual smirk on her face. "So… How are they doing? You haven't broken them with your perfectionist ways have you?" She asked jokingly.

Maribelle ignored the joke. "No, Master, I have not broken anyone…" A small smile then made its way upon her face. "… I do not drive children to the point of physical collapse like you, Master."

Celia's eye twitched, and she looked towards Maribelle. "Don't get snarky with me about that, I honestly thought they could handle it." She said indignantly, and she looked down at the ground. "I already got enough flak from Lana about that." She mumbled lowly.

Maribelle's smile got even bigger, clearly in amusement.

Celia then looked up, and started staring at the girls dueling. "How are they progressing?" She asked curiously.

"Very good, actually. They are very determined and they are progressing very quickly." Maribelle said. Her voice had a small hint of pride in it.

Celia then smirked, "I see that you are teaching them fencing. I feel as though as I shouldn't be surprised by this."

Maribelle glanced at Celia, before returning her attention to her students. "Of course, Master. I was taught it first as a child, and it is my favorite style. So naturally, they will be taught it first as well. They got the basic forms down, and they just need to work on their precision, speed, and endurance. Then, I will teach them the more advanced forms. I predict that they will be proficient enough to move on to the next style of sword combat in about six months" She said calmly.

Celia looked at Maribelle, "Have you taught any form of magic yet?" She inquired.

Maribelle shook her head. "No, I am waiting until they have complete control of their own magic first, before I teach anything of that nature... How are they progressing on that front by the way?"

"Well, they both progressing in their own way. Kagura is showing good control over her magic, but she still needs to work on the power and strength of her magic." Celia said, before sighing. "Rubi on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She's got the power aspect down, but her control over the power needs improving... It's not entirely her fault either, her magic is proving to be very… difficult."

Maribelle looked at Celia, "Difficult how?" She inquired.

Celia then sighed again, "Besides the red tint, I thought it was just normal lightning magic at first. But it has proven to be extra stubborn, and more potent; it has also proven to be extra explosive as well. Although she has gotten past exploding at every spell she tries to do, it still occasionally happens when tries something new with her magic. She had electrical burns all over arms the first few weeks of using her magic. But she is getting better every day though."

"I will see what I can do about that." Maribelle responded, and looked back at the two, still dueling, but showing signs fatigue. "Kagura! Rubina!" She shouted.

They both stopped, and lowered their weapons. They took off their fencing masks revealing their exhausted and very sweaty faces. They shook hands, and walked over to Maribelle. "Yes, Shishou?" They asked, their voices conveying their exhaustion.

"You two are done for the day, and I'm giving you tomorrow off to recuperate. You are dismissed." She said calmly. The girls nodded, and started walking back to the dorms.

Celia had an amused expression on her face. "Shishou huh… How fancy" She said as she watched their retreating forms.

"They are my students, so it is appropriate that they call me Shishou" Maribelle responded curtly.

Celia then looked at her, "You know… I don't think you told why you accepted them as your students." Celia wondered out loud.

Maribelle's face softened and she turned her head towards Celia. "They interest me. Since the day they arrived here, they have been determined to get stronger. Despite their hardships, they kept moving forward, I cannot help but see a little bit of myself in them. I saw their advancement, and I knew it would be a matter of time before they came looking for way to push even further. So I accepted their request for apprenticeships, because who am I to stop them from achieving their goal." A genuine smile made its way across her face.

Celia studied her, and then she too, smiled. "Well, that was pretty deep, Kid." She said, before her face turned mischievous. "You know, Mari-chan… I distantly remember you saying that you always wanted younger siblings years ago… Is this really just a move to fulfill your deep desires?" Celia teased.

Maribelle quickly looked away from the older women, her cheeks turning a slightly pink. "I do not recall saying such a thing, Master. You must be imaging things." She said quickly, with a hint of embarrassment.

Celia grinned, "I don't know… I remember a few years ago, at the guild Christmas party, a young, intoxicated, depressed teenager lamenting about how she wished she had younger a younger brother or sister." Celia teased again.

Maribelle's entire face flushed red. "That did not happen!" She exclaimed, and Celia laughed at her embarrassment. Celia was the only one that could push Maribelle's buttons.

"Oh calm down, I'm just messing with you." Celia said in amusement. Her face then turned serious. "By the way… Have you heard anything yet?" She asked, changing the mood of the conversation.

Maribelle's face went back to its normal color and she too turned serious. "About the group that attacked Rosemary? No, I have not found much details about their whereabouts. I am truly sorry… What did the magic council say about the matter?"

Celia scowled, "All they will tell me is that the group is apparently linked to multiple village raids around the southern part of Fiore. They have told me that they are a Zeref cult… But I know there are things that they are not telling me… I really hate them sometimes." Her voice was filled with annoyance. "I made a promise to those two that I would find the ones responsible, but I can't make any headway… An entire village, reduced to ashes, its citizens slaughtered mercilessly, other children kidnapped…" Celia said darkly, her expression absolutely furious.

Maribelle's face hardened. "Do not worry, Master. We will find them."

XXX

Rubina and Kagura where sitting on the dock behind the guild, soaking in the summer sun. Kagura was wearing a white sun dress, and Rubina was wearing a light blue one. Both were bare foot, and had their feet in the lake.

"Hey, Kagura?" Rubina asked while looking out on the water.

Kagura glanced at her friend, "Yes, Rubi?"

"I've been wondering… How has your magic training been going? We have different teachers, so I never get to see your magic in action." Rubina said, her voice was curious.

"Um… It's been going pretty well. Lana-san said that I have great control over it, but I still need to work on my stamina, and my uh… I think she called it a 'radius'." Kagura replied, and then looked at her friend. "How about yours?"

Rubina sighed, "It's going pretty good, but it is incredibly hard to control, and sometimes explodes in my face..." She pouted.

Kagura let out a small giggle.

Rubina looked at her friend, "It's not funny! Exploding really hurts!" She exclaimed, which made Kagura giggle some more.

"I'm sorry, Rubi, it's just really funny when ya pout like that." Giggled out Kagura

Rubina's face grew a little red, before she shook her head. "So how big can you make your radius?" She quickly changed topic, not wanting to continue the current line of conversation.

Kagura stopped giggling, but still had a small smile on her face. She then looked out to the sparkling blue waters of the lake. "Hmm, about thirty-five feet so far, and I can hold that for about ten minutes before I get really exhausted."

Rubina raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? How strong can you make the gravity?" She asked, sounding very impressed.

Kagura started kicking her feet in the water, "Well, according to Lana-san's weird device thingy, I can make gravity about two times stronger, and I can completely reverse it as well, but I'm not as good at that as I am at increasing it."

"Can you show me…? I mean can you show me the reversing gravity part?" Rubina asked, clearly intrigued by her friends abilities. "I would show you some stuff with my lightning, but I haven't been cleared to practice without supervision yet by Master."

Kagura looked at her friend and smiled, "Sure." She said simply.

They both stood up on the dock, and Kagura took a step back. Looking at the back of Rubina, a mischievous thought entered Kagura's head.

She suddenly pushed Rubina off the dock, earning a high pitched "KYAA!" from the red head. But before she could fall fully into the water, Kagura glowed, and the area around Rubina started rippling with an invisible force. Rubina stopped in her tracks, and then she suddenly started floating upwards.

"That wasn't funny Kagura!" She yelled, and then started flailing her arms in an attempt to turn herself around. She succeeds, and she glares at her friend, while still floating slowly upward. Her glare would have been more effective if it weren't for her cheeks being beat red, almost matching the color of her eyes and hair.

' _I can't believe I went kyaa… I'm never going live that down_ ' She thought in embarrassment.

This made Kagura giggle uncontrollably and the sudden invisible force cuts off, and Rubina falls into the water with another "KYAA!" When Rubina emerged from the water, her dress and her braided hair were completely soaked. She was not amused, and somehow her face somehow got even redder.

' _Not again!_ ' She lamented internally.

"W-Why did you do that for!?" She stammered out in embarrassment.

By this point, Kagura was on the dock, on her back, laughing uncontrollably. Rubina glared at her, until she finally calmed down enough to speak.

"You called me a balloon, now you're a water balloon!" She giggled out.

"That was months ago!" Rubina exclaimed.

Kagura continued to giggle. "You were so cute when you went 'Kyaa'. You should do it more often, Rubi!"

"Shut up! That wasn't funny!" Rubina exclaimed, which made Kagura have another giggle fit. A devious smirk then made its way across Rubina's face. She lunged out of water, grabbed Kagura, and pulled her into the water. Kagura made a yelping noise as she went into the water.

She emerged from the water and glared at the red head, who started laughing. "Serves you right!" Rubina laughed out.

Kagura responded by splashing her, and Rubina returned in kind. A full splash fight then broke out.

Far away from the docks, Celia and Lana were watching the scene unfold.

"I don't know how they are so cheerful. They act like nothing bad has happened to them at all. I don't know how they could get over something like that so fast." Celia said out loud.

Lana looked at her friend, and then back the girls, who were still splashing each other. "I don't think that they are completely over it. I think that they mourn in private, when they are only with each other. We can have sympathy for what they been through, but only they understand each other." Lana said with a smile on her face.

Celia made a contemplative noise, and then smiled. "Well, even if they lost everything, I guess they still have each other."

The two girls stopped splashing each other, and were laughing.

XXX

 **September, X775**

Rubina was sitting in her bed at the dorms. The walls of room were a light, pale blue, and did not have anything on them. The room had two beds, with one having dark blue sheets and the other having white sheets. Each side had a closet and a dresser for the respective occupant, and there was a door on the left side of the room for the bathroom. The bed with the dark blue sheets was Rubina's, and the other was Kagura's.

Rubina was wearing a white T-shirt and dark colored shorts. Her hair was still braided in the back. On the bed was a book titled _Introduction to Arcane Engineering._ She was currently reading it as if it were a normal book. She also had a notebook and pencil in her hands and was drawing something as she read the book.

She was humming to herself.

The doorknob started turning and Rubina closed her notebook. The door opened and Kagura walked in. She was wearing her usual white dress with black leggings and white shoes.

She immediately noticed Rubina looking at her, "What are you doing, Rubi? I've been wondering where you were at." She then looked at the book that was her bed, "Whatcha reading?" She asked curiously, and she walked over to the red head's bed.

Rubina looked back at the book, "Something that interests me." She said casually and she set down her notebook beside her.

Kagura looked at the book that her friend was reading, and furrowed her brows. "How can you read this? I don't even understand what's even going on in it." She said, her voice filled with confusion.

Rubina looked at her friend for a second, before looking back the book. "It's a book about…" She then paused, and thought about what she was going to say next. "…about building and designing stuff using magic and magical materials." She summarized simply.

"Oh… What are you building?" Kagura asked. She then looked at the open notebook, and then pointed at it. "Is that what you're building? What is it?" She inquired.

Rubina immediately closed her notebook and held the notebook protectively to her chest. "It's a secret!" She exclaimed, her face was a little red.

Kagura looked at her friend, and the let out a small giggle. "You don't have to be so secretive with me, Rubi, but if it that important to you, then I won't ask any more…But only if I get to see it first when it's done, Okay?"

Rubina nodded, "Sure, when it's eventually complete, I'll definitely show you first." She then put her notebook down. "If it works, it's gonna be awesome!" She exclaimed.

XXX

Rubina was currently standing about ten feet away from an upright log that was half way buried into the ground. She was currently wearing protective glasses and had padded gloves on her hands. Behind her was Celia, observing her.

"So, you said had an idea you wanted to test out?" Celia asked curiously.

Rubina looked at Celia, "Yes, Master. I have an idea for new move, but I want you to be here if I go flying from some accidental explosion." She said sheepishly.

Celia sighed, and then smirked. "Don't worry, Kid, you haven't exploded in a couple of months. So I think you'll be good. But I'll catch ya if need be."

Rubina nodded and faced herself towards the upright log. She then held out her hand in front of her, and started concentrating. Crimson red lightning started sparking in her hand. The lightning started picking up in intensity. It then started concentrating in the palm of her hand, getting denser and denser, before a sparking ball of lighting formed in her hand. The dense ball of red lightning was very loud, very bright, and emitting a sound resembling a thousand chirping birds.

Celia raised an eyebrow at the spectacle. ' _Wow, that's a lot of concentrated magic. That would definitely do some damage… It is pretty loud though…_ ' She thought.

Rubina got into a combat stance, her right hand trembling from the raw power it was holding. She then lunged forward at the log, her right arm extended in front of her.

The log stood no chance against the concentrated ball of electricity and Rubina's hand went clean through it like a hot knife through butter. The ball of concentrated energy then exploded, sending the red head flying backwards.

Luckily she was caught by Celia's tendril of water, and was gently set down on the ground.

"Ow… Definitely used too much power…" Rubina groaned out, before bringing her hand to her face. The glove that was on it was gone, completely destroyed from the ball of lighting, revealing her hand. There was a huge first degree burn on the palm of her hand. "I really hate electricity." Rubina grumbled out.

"That's one hell of spell, Kid, but I don't think you should try again until you get a little more control over your magic. That could definitely do some damage for sure, but it's a bit loud." Celia said with a huge smirk on her face.

"Thanks, Master, I'll definitely take that into conversation…" Rubina groaned out, before getting up, and wincing from the stinging of her fresh burn.

"By the way, what's it called?" Celia asked.

Rubina looked at her, "I decided to call it Chidori, which means One Thousand Birds." She said simply.

"One thousand birds, huh? How fitting… What's with the eastern script name?" Celia wondered out loud.

Rubina flushed a little bit, "Well, it's must faster to say Chidori, than One Thousand Birds… Plus it sounds cooler…" She said simply.

"Well… I think it's pretty neat move… Let's get that burn treated" Celia said simply, and Rubina made a noise of agreement.

XXX

 **December 24th, X775**

It was that time of year again. Snow everywhere, freezing temperatures, trees and buildings decorated with various lights and decorations, and everyone was in a festive mood.

Once again, it was Christmas in Fiore.

In the Mermaid Heel guild hall, everyone was having a good time. The guild hall was alight with festive lights. The bar was serving eggnog and other festive drinks. On the back of the stage was a large Christmas tree, decorated with various ornaments and had a mermaid holding a star on the top of it. Christmas cheer filled the air.

Kagura and Araña were sitting at a table in the guild hall.

Kagura was wearing a white sweater that had snowflakes sewn on it. She had black pants on and was wearing white boots. Araña was wearing an amber sweater with spider webs on it, and she had matching pants and boots on. Next to her on the table, was her favorite toy, Mr. Fuzzy, who was wearing a Santa hat. She was currently coloring on a piece of paper.

"So, Araña-chan… What do you want for Christmas?" Kagura asked.

Araña looked up with a huge grin on her face, "I want to learn Magic, and Mr. Fuzzy wants a girlfriend!" She exclaimed excitedly. "What do you want!?" She asked cheerfully.

A sad look flashed across Kagura's face, but was quickly replaced with a small smile. "Well… I don't know if I can get what I want for Christmas… But that's alright, I have you, Rubi, Master, Maribelle and the guild." She said, her voice was slightly depressed.

"Why can't ya get what you want?" Araña asked curiously.

Kagura looked away, "Sometimes, you can't always get what want… I don't think anyone can get what I want for Christmas…" She said sadly.

Araña's face grew concerned, "Not even Santa?"

Kagura looked back at her, "No, not even Santa…"

Before Araña could respond Lana appeared. "Ok sweetie, it's time to go now. Go put on your coat." Lana said.

"Yes, Momma." Araña said cheerfully, and went to go find her coat.

Lana then looked down at Kagura, with a concerned expression on her face. "What's wrong Kagura-chan?"

Kagura looked up with a sad smile, "It's nothing Lana-san, I was just thinking about things. Nothing to worry about." She said with a hint a melancholy.

That didn't quell Lana's concern. Lana looked at the table that Kagura was sitting at, and noticed the absence of a certain red head. "Where's Rubi-chan?"

"She decided to go home early. Said that she wasn't in the mood for a Christmas party." Kagura replied.

Lana didn't have time to respond.

"Momma! I'm ready!" Interrupted Araña. She had a bright green coat on.

Lana looked down at her daughter, and extended her hand. Araña then interlocked her hand with Lana's. "We'll, I got to go now, Kagura-chan… I hope you feel better tomorrow… Merry Christmas." She then started walking away with Araña skipping alongside her.

"Merry Christmas!" Kagura shouted. She then got off the chair she was on, and went to go get her coat.

Walking outside in a purple winter coat, Kagura looked up to the clear sky. There was a full moon. She then started walking to the dorms, her feet were leaving a trail in the freshly fallen snow, and her breath was visible.

She opened the main door, and walked into the main lobby of the dorm. Inside, there stood a large Christmas tree, which was decorated similarly to one the guild hall.

Kagura looked up to the star that was on top of the tree. "All I want for Christmas, is to have Simon-nii back, and for Rubi to have her sister back as well…" She said out loud.

She then started walking towards her room. When she arrived at her door, she stopped and sighed. Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard singing coming from her room.

' _Is someone singing?_ ' She wondered.

She then turned the doorknob really slowly, and opened the door silently.

What she saw, surprised her.

The lights were on, and in the middle of the room, was Rubina. She was looking outside the window that was in between their beds. She was humming a sad tune, before she started singing.

" _I never felt  
That it was wise  
To wish too much  
To dream too big  
Would only lead  
To being crushed_

 _Then I met you  
You weren't afraid  
Of anything  
You taught me how  
To leave the ground  
To use my wings_

 _I never thought a hero_  
 _Would ever come my way_  
 _But more than that_  
 _I never thought_  
 _You'd be taken away_

 _Now it's cold without you here_  
 _It's like winter lasts all year_  
 _But your star's still in the sky_  
 _So I won't say goodbye_  
 _I don't have to say goodbye"_

Kagura was silent because of her friend's song. She never knew she could sing. A tear escaped her eye.

'Beautiful.' She thought

"Beautiful…" She unintentionally said out loud.

Rubina suddenly jumped in surprise and turned around to see Kagura staring at her. Rubina froze, and looked like a deer caught in the head lights. Her face then turned super red, matching her hair, and immediately ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Kagura then snapped out of stupor. "Crap!" She exclaimed out loud. She then went up to the bathroom door, and found it locked. "Rubi… Are you okay? I'm sorry that I walked in on that." She said loud enough for the other girl to hear.

"G-Go away!" Rubina said, her voice was filled with embarrassment.

Kagura grew concerned, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have opened the door so quietly." Rubina didn't respond. Kagura stayed silent for a few moments, before sighing, "I thought it was very pretty… Your song I mean. I also thought your singing was pretty as well…" She said out loud.

There was a moment of silence. "R-Really?" Came Rubina's voice from the other side of the door.

Kagura smiled, "Really. You were actually pretty good…" She said confidently.

Another moment passed, and then Kagura heard the sound of the door unlocking. The door opened, revealing Rubi with a blush on her face. "D-Did it really sound good?"

Kagura then gave her a quick hug. "Yes! I wasn't kidding when I said it was good." She then let go, and backed up. "Where did you hear that song? I never heard it before…" She inquired.

"Oh…Uh, um… I found it in a book somewhere… I forget which one." Rubina said quickly, averting her eyes away from Kagura.

Kagura then smiled, "Well, I thought it was very pretty. Maybe you should learn how to play an instrument…"

"I'll think about it…" Rubina said.

Kagura then blinked, and realized that it was getting very late. "I think we should get to bed, Santa won't come if we are awake." Kagura said, which got a nod from Rubina.

The two laid in their beds, the lights were off, and the moonlight was shining in from the window.

"Rubi…" Came Kagura's voice.

"Yes?" Was Rubina's response.

"Merry Christmas."

XXX

 **December 25th, X775**

Rubina and Kagura were in Maribelle's room, sitting in her living room chairs. They were both in pajamas. Rubina was wearing a red pair, and Kagura was wearing a purple pair.

Maribelle sat down on her own chair with two wrapped boxes. They were long and rectangular, and both were wrapped in white wrapping paper. One had a purple bow, and the other had a red one. She then put them on the coffee table that the chairs surrounded.

The two girls eyed the boxes.

"Merry Christmas." Maribelle said calmly.

The two girls looked at each other, before they opened the presents.

What they found under the wrapping paper made their eyes go wide.

On the coffee table were two mahogany boxes that had a window that revealed what was inside them. Both boxes had a full sized rapier in them. They were identical, both their blades were shiny, narrow and sharp. Their handguards had intricate engravings on them. The handles were wrapped in black leather, and had their first names printed in gold leaf.

The two girls were stunned.

A small smile made its way on Maribelle's face, "After many months of hard work, I deem the two of you proficient enough to move on and learn the next style of sword combat. We will start that in the spring though, and we will be working on close quarters combat and knife combat until then."

The two girls snapped out of their daze, "Thank you, Shishou!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Unfortunately, you will not be able to use them until you are older, though. And you are most welcome." She said with a small smile.

* * *

This chapter was mostly filler, and had some fluff. I felt it necessary for character development and I wanted to take a break from writing first person. Because I wrote this in third person, her little pet project isn't spoiled yet. As you can see, Rubina has watched Naruto (and who hasn't?), and is trying to replicate some moves from the anime. Let's be honest, if you got lighting powers, who wouldn't try to recreate some of the lightning techniques from the anime. Chidori will not be the only move she will try to recreate, but that is way down the line. The song she was singing is called "Cold" by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams. It is part of the RWBY Vol. 3 soundtrack and is a tribute to the late Monty Oum, who was the creator of the show. If you haven't watched it, go check it out. Since Rubina is based off me, she likes to sing when she is by herself. She reacted how I would react to being caught like that. I'm actually a very shy person. Of course, she acquired better singing ability with her new life. Lastly, Christmas does exist in Fairy Tail. There are two special manga chapters that are Christmas themed. The second one is especially funny.


	11. Free Time

**I would like to thank all that left positive feedback on the last chapter. As this story gets longer, I plan on trying to get the average chapter length to 4,500 to 5,000 words. Not all chapters will be that length, but I will try to get them to be that length.**

* * *

 **Free Time**

 **April, X776**

I'm currently in the field in front of the dorms, in a combat stance, gripping a rubber knife with my right hand. Standing six feet away from me is Kagura, who is also holding a rubber knife with her right hand, and is in a similar combat stance.

We are both wearing white T-shirts, but Kagura was wearing her black leggings, while I was wearing tan shorts.

Maribelle is standing about twenty feet away from us. "You two may begin." She says calmly.

I immediately lunge forward and stab at my opponent. She side steps and makes her own attempt to stab, and I dodge.

I flip my knife and hold it in a reverse grip. I slash at her, and she deflects and counters. The next few minutes are spent slashing and stabbing at each other, trying to land a hit.

"Ouch!" I say as I feel the blunt rubber blade hit my rib.

"Kagura wins." Maribelle says.

We get out of combat stances, and we shake hands. I start rubbing the spot where I got hit, "Did you really need to hit so hard, Kagura? That hurts ya know?"

She put on an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Rubi. I got really into it…" She says sheepishly.

Before I could respond, Maribelle steps in. "Alright you two, I feel that we are ready to move away from hand-to-hand combat, and start the next style of sword combat." She says calmly. She then held out her hands, and two wooden swords appeared in a gold flash.

I think they are called bokken if I remember correctly.

"You will be learning how to use a katana next. It is a sword that, unlike the rapier, can both cut and stab very well. But that comes with a tradeoff. It is not as light as a rapier, and thus you cannot maneuver it as fast. The handle also has room for two hands, and if you want maximum effectiveness from the sword, you are going to need to use both hands rather than one." She instructed, and she handed us the wooden swords. She then drew her own, full sized, metal katana from the sheath on her hip, then got into combat stance and gripped it with two hands.

"The stance for using this type of sword is much different from a rapiers'. It is a little more rigid, but it allows for more power to be applied… Now get into a similar stance as mine and we will start practicing the forms." She instructed again.

"Yes, Shishou!" Kagura and I exclaim at the same time, and we imitate her stance. The rest of day went similar to when we first learned how to use a rapier, but we were more disciplined and Maribelle wasn't required to hit us with a yardstick.

Instead of a lecture on sword safety, she started telling us about the strengths and weaknesses of a katana, and the many different styles that come with it.

At the end of day, Kagura seemed to like the feel of a katana style sword more than she liked the rapier style. This shouldn't be surprising, considering she wielded Archenemy in the anime. I don't know how she acquired it, though. Maybe Maribelle gave it to her for some reason.

XXX

Today was a great day to be alive. I was finally allowed to practice my magic without supervision. Well, except when I'm trying new techniques, but that's a non-issue.

During the many months since I tried to recreate Chidori, I've gotten to the point where I don't explode anymore. In fact, I haven't exploded since last September. I can't begin to describe how it feels to be able to wield all this raw power without injuring myself. When I really get going, it feels like I'm on a constant adrenaline rush.

But I also have recently noticed some changes to my body, most notably, my reflexes. I seem to react to stuff much faster than I remember me being able to. There is also this weird feeling I get whenever a strong thunderstorm happens. Whenever there is a major storm, I can feel this weird tingling in back of my head, and it feels like the storm is calling to me.

When I asked Celia about this, she said it was because of me getting more in tune with my element, and it's only natural for me to feel a large source of natural lightning. She said that she feels a connection to large bodies of water.

I asked her if it was possible to control natural lightning, and she said yes, but it is extremely difficult. Apparently, lightning was the hardest of the basic five elements to control in its natural state. This was due to the sheer amount of energy that was in a storm, and someone had to have an extreme amount of willpower to wrestle control from Mother Nature. Also, she said using natural lightning was more powerful than magic generated lightning. This was due to natural lightning having less ethernano than the magic lightning. This lack of ethernano made it possible for the natural lightning to go through the passive magic shield that most humans had in this world.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. Apparently, people have a passive barrier that is powered by their magic reserves, regardless of whether they can use magic or not. Mages obviously get a stronger shield than non-magic users, due to them being able to expand their reserves. This reminded me of how aura worked from RWBY. It also explained why characters could take such huge hits and not be blown to bits. The shield couldn't protect you against everything, but it did a pretty good job regardless. It also explained why I was only getting first degree burns and not something much worse.

Anyway, back on the subject of ethernano. Almost everything in this world was filled with the stuff like a soaked sponge. It made sense, this world is probably billions of years old like Earth, so the ethernano has had plenty of time to soak itself into almost everything. Rocks, water, wood, living beings, the very air we breathe, and even refined metal. That explains why Erza wasn't killing people whenever she used her swords (she was probably holding back as well). One couldn't get ethernano out by smelting metal, they had to literally suck it out with some type of absorber. Interestingly, this is how they made magic nullifying handcuffs. They suck ethernano out of the metal, and the metal becomes a void. Nature doesn't like voids, so it naturally tries to fill it. It takes a lot ethernano to make those cuffs saturated enough to stop working.

Anyway, ethernano didn't immediately saturate something, hence why natural lightning didn't have much in it. It appears and disappears too quickly for it to absorb a decent amount of it. Fire was very similar, but it was harder to get fire that lacks ethernano, because fire often fed on materials that contained ethernano.

This didn't mean natural lightning or fire was more powerful than all the types of magic spells, as there probably is some type of super hax spells out there, but pound for pound, the natural stuff hit harder (at least on human beings, that is). The only drawback was that it was harder to control, and harder to get. So it was way more convenient to just use magic generated lightning…

I was standing on the docks, my hands sparking with electricity. Since I could finally practice by myself, I was free to do anything I want. So naturally, I let out my inner nerd.

"Yes… Let the hate flow through you…" I say, doing the best Palpatine impression I could with an eight year old body.

I then hold my hands up in the same way Palpatine does when he is about to attack. I then will the lighting to shoot out my fingertips.

Long, crimson arcs of electricity shoot out my fingertips and connect with the surface of lake. "Heh, heh, heh, hah hah!" I cackle with my best impersonation of Palpatine's laugh. Unfortunately, I'm an eight year old little girl, and it sounds nothing like it. Bummer.

I stop before someone catches me. I think I probably look like a lunatic on drugs when I do that. I then make my hands look like guns and start shooting lightning out my fingertips while making, "Pew, pew, pew" noises. I do that for few moments before that gets boring.

Another idea then enters my head, and I try something that I always wanted to do since I found out about my lightning magic. I point two fingers and I start doing some elaborate arm and body motions, while willing lightning to spark around my hands. As I'm doing the fancy motions, there is a trail of red lightning being left behind as my hands move through the air. I end my motions by pointing at the lake and shoot out a long, concentrated beam of lighting. The large beam of lightning almost reaches the center of the lakem and almost hits the Island that was in the middle.

I let out an audible squee, which I'm embarresed to admit I made, and I was extremely giddy. I just lightning bended like Azula. I couldn't explain in words how much I was internally fangirling right now…

Wait… Did I just refer to myself as a fangirl?

XXX

 **June, X776**

I was in my room, strumming away at an acoustic guitar. Ever since Christmas, I have decided to listen to Kagura's advice, and learn how to play an instrument. I decided to learn how to play the guitar, because most of my favorite songs from my previous life were played on a guitar. I actually had an electric one in my previous life, but I never got to learning how to play it fully. I had it for years, but I only managed to learn some basic chords and never picked up the thing again. I feel kind of guilty about that, as it was an expensive Christmas gift from my parents.

In my notebook, I had written down as many song lyrics as I could remember, and I could remember surprising amount. I was always good at remembering music, as I would always have a tune playing in my head, even when I was falling asleep. I really have missed the music from my past life, so I decided that I will recreate the music from my old world, and introduce it to this one

The hardest part, however, will be recreating the music itself. I will have to spend hours of my free time experimenting with the guitar, trying and testing out chords to get the sound just right. I will have to use an acoustic guitar for now, because electric ones are very expensive in this world. In fact, the guitar I'm using for learning purposes isn't even mine. I'm borrowing it from Maribelle, who apparently knows how to play multiple instruments, not just the violin.

Right now, I'm already ahead of where I was in my past life, and making steady progress. I already figured how to play some of the more iconic and simple guitar riffs, but was still having trouble with the more complicated songs. I still needed to work on my playing speed as well.

Anyway, I'm sitting on my bed, experimenting with the guitar and I hear the door open. I stop playing and look up to see Kagura walk in. She was wearing her usual outfit of black leggings, white dress, and of course, her white ribbon on her head.

She looks at me curiously, "I've been wondering where you have been, Rubi. When I said you should learn how to play an instrument, I didn't mean you should spend all day in our room doing it…"

Despite dying and being reborn, old behaviors have carried over from my past life. One of these behaviors, was my tendency to spend my days inside a room by myself, and do whatever to occupy my time. Since there was no computers or internet in this world, I had to have something to occupy my free time, and the guitar or my little project that I'm working on were the perfect things.

Hooray for reclusive behavior! At least I'm doing something productive this time

"I like it in here… It's private." I argue weakly.

Kagura was not convinced, "You should really get out more."

I open my mouth to counter her.

"And no, training does not count, Rubi." She says flatly.

It's really weird to be scolded by a legitimate eight year old. I'm surprised by her maturity every day. Is it just me, or do children of anime worlds mature faster than real children do? Sometimes, I believe Kagura is older than eight, but I know that's not the case.

Speaking of Kagura, she seems different from how she acts in the anime. I know that she didn't appear until she was in her twenties, and she could have changed a lot between childhood and adulthood, but I'm not seeing much of her anime self in person. From what I remember about her in the anime, she was always calm, stoic, and serious.

The girl that I now live and interact with every day is very different from that woman in the anime. Yes, she has gotten calmer since we first meet, but she is nowhere near as stoic and serious as the woman I remember. The only time she displays those traits is when we are with Maribelle, practicing our combat skills. She seems more cheerful, and just looks… happier than her anime counterpart.

I don't know how she became that woman in the anime with the way she acts now…

Maybe she acts differently because of me. From what I could remember, she was the only one Erza was able save in canon, and if I assume correctly, she was probably found by Celia all alone. Despite the guild being welcoming, most of the members of the guild were very busy and didn't have the time to hang out with young children.

Without me here, there would have only been her and Araña, who only came to the guild like three times a week. She must have been so alone… It might be arrogant of me to believe this, but I think my presence has changed her from what she would have turned into. Me being here gave her someone to relate to. But it is too early to tell for certain.

"But, it's really nice in here, and what's the harm of staying inside for a few hours?" I argue back.

In response, she shakes her head in exasperation. A small smile then makes its way on her face, "I guess I can't convince you then… You'll just become a cave vulcan, then." She teased

I make a face of disgust, because from what I remember of Vulcans, they were truly disgusting creatures and quite horrifying. They could apparently take over your body.

I distantly remember them being somewhat perverted as well, but I might wrong.

Seeing my face of disgust, Kagura let out a short giggle. "I'm just kidding, Rubi, I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone." She then eyed the guitar I was holding, "How's it going with that guitar?" She asked curiously.

I feel a grin form on my face at her question. "It's going very good actually! I actually got the basics down pretty well, and I can play some basic tunes. I just need to work on my playing speed." I say excitedly.

"Is that so? Can I hear something?" She asks.

Do I really want to show her right now? Oh hell, why not? She is my best friend after all.

I shrug, "Sure, why not." I say casually.

She then walked over to my bed, got on it, and sat across from me with her legs crossed.

"I'm not exactly great with this thing, so I will be playing a little slowly and I will most likely make some mistakes." I say and she nods her head. "Ok then, I'll be playing a little bit of a song I've been working on." I say before I close my eyes.

I take a deep breath, and I start strumming the guitar. The main riff from _Seven Nation Army_ fills the air. Even though the tempo was not quite at the same pace, and I was making occasional mistakes, it was still pretty recognizable. I couldn't play the faster and more complex parts yet, so I just stuck to the main riff. I also didn't sing the lyrics.

I play the riff for about a minute before I stop. I hear Kagura clapping, and I open my eyes to see her with a grin on her face.

"That was really good, Rubi!" She says excitedly.

I feel my face heat up at the praise, "You really think so?" I was never good with other people's praise.

She nodded excitedly, "Yeah! I really do!" She then adopts a curious expression. "What's called? Does it have any words?" She asks.

"It's called 'Seven Nation Army' and yes, it does have lyrics." I respond simply.

She then tilted her head in confusion, "Why didn't you sing then? You have a really pretty voice, ya know."

I feel my face heat up again, and I advert my eyes. "I didn't feel like singing… The song isn't even complete yet. The tempo wasn't at full speed…" I say awkwardly. I still got nervous singing in front of other people, even if I only did it front Kagura. This was another thing I kept from my old life. Shyness. More particularly, public speaking and performing.

Her face then got really excited, "You should perform in front of the guild!" She exclaimed suddenly

My face got even hotter, "I-I think you're overestimating my skills, Kagura." I say nervously. Public performing would definitely set off my social anxieties.

She then move from the opposite side my bed to right next me. She then put a hand on my shoulder, "I think you're selling yourself short, Rubi." She said confidently. She then gave a conspiratorial glance around the room and leaned towards me. "Plus, I think you're better than half the guild. Have you seen karaoke night?" She stage whispered.

That made me laugh. "I'll think about it." I giggle out.

XXX

I'm standing across from a log that was half way buried into the ground.

Today I was going to figure out how much I can manipulate my lightning. I already knew that I could condense it into a spherical shape, but I wonder how far I could manipulate it.

I hold my hand out, and it starts sparking with electricity. I then condense it to point of forming a chidori. The air becomes filled with the sound of a thousand chirping birds.

My hand turns a little wobbly from the power that my hand contained, so I use my other hand to secure my wrist. I then begin to concentrate, and start willing the dense ball of lighting to take a different shape. At first, the ball does nothing. But then, it starts to slowly morph and elongate. As it gets narrower and longer in shape, it becomes increasingly difficult to control. My concentration starts to deteriorate and I decide to abort before I blow myself up. I quickly point my other hand to the sky and lightning shoots out my fingertips. The lightning that was in my right hand dissipates.

I was breathing heavy, and feeling a little exhausted.

Ok… it seems that I can manipulate it into other shapes, but it took a lot of concentration to do so. Maybe I should have used less power…

I wait a few minutes to catch my breath, before I start gathering lightning in my hand once again. This time, I use about a quarter of the power that I used before. I start willing the lightning to elongate, and it responds much quicker than before.

The lightning elongates into a vague rod shape. I feel a grin make its way upon my face as I see the rod of lightning in my hand. I cautiously bring my other hand to the bottom of the rod, making sure that I have magic flowing through it, and grip the rod. My hand gets a little tingly, but nothing bad happens and my grin gets bigger. I reposition my main hand and grip the rod of lightning like a sword.

I then get into a sword stance, and swing at the log in front of me. The rod slices about half way through with ease, before dissipating.

I start giggling with excitement.

I just figured out how to use my magic to form shapes, and proven that it can cut quite efficiently.

XXX

* * *

Here is a little bonus Omake.

 **Bittersweet Freedom**

 **Tower of Heaven, X776**

Erza was in shock.

' _Jellel… He just killed that man with magic and had no remorse. He…he laughed as if he were playing a game._ ' she thought as she followed him through the rubble of their prison.

She was battle worn. She was wearing small metal chest plate over a white dress that was a little too small for her. Her arms and legs had bandages wrapped around them and her wrists had metal cuffs on them. Over her right eye was a white eyepatch.

Jellel was shirtless, wearing only worn, green pants. He had similar cuffs on his wrists as well.

"Erza… let's complete the R-system… I mean the Tower of Heaven together!" He said suddenly.

"Eh!?" Erza said in half confusion, and half shock.

"Then we can resurrect Zeref." Jellel continued, ignoring his friend's surprise.

' _What!? Why would he want to do that!?_ ' Erza thought quickly.

"Stop saying such crazy things! We're going to get off this Island! I have to find my sister!" She exclaimed.

Jellel looked over his shoulder with annoyance. His right eye glowed red, and Erza was sent flying backwards at a great velocity by an invisible force. She crashes through a stone wall, and eventually lands in a cave that had scaffolding everywhere.

Erza's arms and knees where on the ground, and she slowly got up as she heard Jellel laugh menacingly. She looked to see Jellel standing on top of some scaffolding.

"Fine. If you want to go so badly, you can leave this island on you own." Jellel said in a slightly condescending tone.

"O-On my own?" Erza whimpered out.

"The rest of them are mine. Completing this tower will take a lot of work, after all. You don't have worry. I'm not like them. I'll give everyone clothes, food, and rest." Jellel had an arrogant smirk on his face, his eyes were slightly deranged. "Although ruling through fear and power can give rise to hatred, the work efficiency will be bad."

Erza couldn't believe what she was hearing "What are you saying? Everyone is already on the ships, waiting for us! No one is planning on coming back here and working!" She said incredulously.

Jellel was on unfazed by her exclamation. "That's because they never explained to us the meaning behind the work. I will show them the meaning. They will work for the glory of the great wizard Zeref!"

"But… who would choose to continue sacrificing themselves?!" Erza shouted, desperately trying to get her friend to see reason.

"Sacrifice?" Jellel echoed lowly. He then looked upward, "Sacrifice is not what I need right now. Zeref taught me, you see."

Erza had tears forming in her single remaining eye, "Jellel, please open your eyes." She begged.

Jellel then looked at Erza and extended his hand. "My eyes are already open." He said simply, before a purple magic circle appeared in front of his hand.

A shroud of dark energy then enveloped Erza, and she felt her neck getting strangled. Weird red lines started surrounding her, and she brought her hands up to neck to try to remove whatever was choking her. She then started floating slowly upwards.

"I have no more need for you. However, I will allow you to live, since you eliminated all those who stood in my way for me." Erza was having a hard time breathing. "You will leave this island and have your fill of that transient freedom." He continued.

"Jellel…" Erza struggled to get out.

Jellel was seemingly unfazed by her cries, and continued to choke her. "But you will never speak of this to anyone. If the government finds out about this tower, it will become quite troublesome. If you try to tell someone, I will have to destroy this tower, and everyone in it." He threatens as he slowly levitates Erza over to him and releases her right in front of him. He then puts his hand under her chin. He then started bringing her face closer to his. "You are also forbidden from coming near here. If you even set one foot here… Yes, that's it. First I'll make Sho disappear…" He whispered in her ear. "…Maybe I'll even find your sister as well, and pay her a little visit. Rubi, wasn't it?" He threatened.

Erza's widened, "Jellel…" she said in a fear laden voice.

"That will be your freedom!" Jellel shouted, and a weird symbol appeared around his right iris. "Live knowing that your friend's and family's lives hang on your shoulders, Erza!" He then dragged her to the entrance of the cave they were in, and threw her into the sea.

Erza lost consciousness as soon as she hit the water.

XXX

 **Coast of Fiore, X776**

Erza awoke on a beach. It was night time and there was a full moon in the clear night sky.

She slowly got to her knees, and tears immediately started hitting the sand.

' _Why…Why Jellel? Why would you do this? What happened to you?_ ' She internally questioned.

Sobs were starting escape her.

She then remembered his threats against her friends…against Rubina. She knew that he would be watching her somehow, making sure she didn't tell.

The tears started flowing more intensely, and the sobs picked up in frequency.

' _Rubi… I'm sorry… For your safety, I… I can't be allowed to find you… Jellel can't be allowed to find you… Onee-chan is… is…_ ' She couldn't complete her thoughts as she started sobbing violently.

' _Sorry_ '

She gripped the sand under her hands and let out a sobbing howl that filled air. She spent that night, under the full moon, crying herself to sleep.

She woke up the following morning, and lifelessly got up to find civilization, and to find Fairy Tail.

* * *

This chapter was mostly filler again, but it did provide some information on the magic of the world and how Rubina spends some of her free time. She also realizes that her presence may have had an effect that she didn't intend to happen. Having some to relate to after a tragedy can make the difference. Also, the beginning of the chapter was my first pathetic attempt at writing a small action scene. I'm going to try to work on that.

I'm sorry for the mood shift with that Omake, but someone was asking about Erza, and I wanted to show how Erza was doing. As you can see, Jellel is hitting where it hurts and threatening the one thing Erza cares about above all others. Her sister. What's the best to keep someone quiet other than to threaten their loved ones. The best way to protect her sister is to keep her hidden, and since Jellel will be keeping an eye on her, she can't be near her and expose her sister's location to him. I hope Erza's reasoning is realistic enough. I didn't make the omake a whole chapter, because this story isn't about Erza, and I didn't want to study whole episodes to properly show Erza's reality. Plus, if I were to write about Erza's life as a slave, I think I would have to bump this story up to M rating. The scene I used for this Omake was from episode 35.


	12. Training and Festivities

**This chapter took a little longer to write. This chapter will wrap up year X776 and the next will move on to the infamous X777.**

* * *

 **Training and Festivities**

 **August, X776**

I dodged the aqueous sphere that was being thrown at me at high speeds. As soon as I dodged the ball of water, another one was right in my face. I manage to quickly bend backwards, and it sails over my face. I rebound up, and immediately cartwheel to the right to dodge several more watery projectiles.

You might be wondering why I'm dodging random balls of water. Well, I was doing dodge training with Celia. Ever since my reflexes started being affected by my magic, Celia has been hammering me with dodge training. Every few days for the past couple of months, we would come out to the lake front, and she would shoot high velocity water projectiles at me.

All in all, that was a perfectly fine thing to do with an eight year child. Throwing baseball sized water balls at high speeds, and expecting them to not get hit. Yep, totally normal.

They hurt like a bitch, by the way.

Another thing that I was enjoying about this body, was how flexible it was. Over the two years that Kagura and I have been here, we were taught acrobatics as part of our exercise regime. Flexibility was extremely important, so we did a lot of stretching each day, and it payed dividends. I could do all these maneuvers that I never dreamed of doing in my past life. The first thing I did when I figured out how flexible I had become, was the splits. I always wanted to do it.

I had the biggest grin on my face when I first did it. If I tried that in my old life, I would have definitely pulled a lot of muscles that I can't name. I'd imagine it hurt like hell in the groin as well, and I get an imaginary pain just thinking about it.

Anyway, superhuman reflexes and awesome acrobatic skills were not enough to dodge Celia's balls of terror. As she started launching them faster and faster, my body could not keep up with my reflexes. It got to the point where I would see the water projectile coming at me in almost slow motion, but I couldn't get my body to move out of the way fast enough. It was only after me getting hit a dozen times, and several bruises forming, that Celia informed that I needed to start enhancing my body with magic power to move faster. I gave her the biggest death glare I could muster, but me being eight years old, completely ruins the effect, and she snickered.

Ethernano not only gave humans a passive shield, it can also be used to increase a mage's natural body speed. If you are a lightning mage, like me, you can take it one step further. I remember Laxus being able to turn his body into a lightning form, and gaining the ability to move at insane speeds. Besides the mages that use some type of speed magic, lightning mages were the fastest around. I can't wait to try the lightning form, but it's almost an expert level spell, and I have a long way to go before I try that.

Using ethernano to augment your body felt absolutely amazing. If I could put it into words, I would say it feels like drinking a shot of one-hundred percent caffeine. But instead of just making me feel energized, it also made my body move just as fast as I could react. There was also the strength difference as well. I could make some pretty good dents in a log with some good punches. Imagine what I could do when I am older.

Of course, with this great power, came some problems. I was so used to how my body normally moved, so whenever I commanded my arm to move, it moved too fast and would throw me off balance. Same thing with the strength. So it took a while to figure out how use this ability properly. I also couldn't continuously augment myself for more than ten minutes at a time, so I had use it sparingly.

Anyway, I cartwheeled to dodge the ball of watery death, and Celia launched another one at the spot where I was going end my cartwheel. I saw where it was going, and I knew that I was doomed.

The baseball size sphere of water hits me in the stomach, knocking the air out of me. I fall to my knees, wheezing.

"Great job, Kid! I think that was a new record." I hear Celia say in a slightly amused voice. I really hate her sometimes.

"*wheeze* T-Thanks Ma*wheeze*Master." I struggle to get out. My eyes were watering a bit. I then collapse, and roll onto my back. I look up to the clear afternoon sky, still breathing hard from the impact. That's going to leave a mark.

Celia enters my vision, "Well, I think I overdid it a little on that last one…" She sighed. "I think we're done for the day, see ya tomorrow." She says with smirk. God, sometimes I want to hit that smirk off her face.

She then starts walking away, and I turn my head to see her walking towards the guild hall. I weakly raise my hand, and give her the middle finger.

Celia, I really like you, but sometimes you really get on my nerves.

I got my revenge the next day by showing Lana the bruise on my stomach, and I watched as Celia get chewed out. Revenge was glorious, until Lana left and Celia looked at me with an evil glint in her eyes. It reminded me of how Ultear looked at Meredy when she asked how to stop Jellel.

But instead of eating a hot chili pepper, I had to run laps around lake while dodging her liquid balls of death.

Never, ever, snitch on Celia.

XXX

I'm striking at Kagura with my bokken with great speed. Unfortunately, she is blocking every strike.

I slow down for a fraction of a second, and Kagura capitalizes on it, and goes on the offensive. It was my turn to block and deflect her strikes. She hits my bokken with a particularly powerful strike, and I stagger a little bit when I block it. She capitalizes on this, and goes for the kill.

Fortunately, I recover and roll to right, dodging her strike. As soon as I get out of my roll, I strike at her again. She brings her sword up, and it meets mine. The blunt sound of wood hitting wood fills the air.

Kagura and I jump back from each over, and take a moment to catch our breaths. Since we were both using magic to enhance our bodies, we end up jumping back at least 6 feet from where were standing easily.

I get back into a proper stance, and hold the bokken with two hands in front of me. Kagura mirrors my stance, and we both get ready to go again.

A moment of silence passes. The only thing that could be heard was the wind blowing.

We then sprint towards each other, crossing the distance between us in what feels like almost an instant. As soon as we get into striking distance, she swings her bokken and I jump over her and I twist in midair landing behind her, facing her back. She has no time to recover from her previous swing, and I immediately strike. The blunt edge of my bokken hits her lower back with a loud thwack, and she yelps in pain.

"Rubina wins." Comes Maribelle's voice.

I was breathing heavily at this point, but I manage to smile in satisfaction at my victory. Kagura and I were having a friendly competition on who can win the most spars. I was still losing 52 to 48 as of today, but that was okay. I was making a comeback.

Kagura starts rubbing her back furiously, and turns around with an angry glare. It was slightly ruined by her watery eyes. "That really hurt, Rubi! I'm not going to be able to sit for a week!" She shouted.

Oops, in my attempt to look like a jedi, I might have hit her too hard, and in the wrong spot. Ouch.

I wince a little, "I'm sorry, Kagura, I didn't intend to hit ya there." I say sheepishly. I then extend my hand and she reluctantly shakes it.

Learning how to use a katana is actually taking longer than a rapier. This was due to the sheer variety of styles that used the sword. When we were learning the rapier, we spent most of our time focusing on a few styles, as the rapier was only good for stabbing and leaving shallow cuts. The katana, and its family of bladed weapons, were more versatile, and could be used for many more styles. We were currently on our third style, which focused on speed and acrobatics to overwhelm the enemy.

It was a natural fit for me, as I've been getting faster and faster. But we still had a lot more styles to go through before we were done with this type of sword. That was a good thing, because I'm pretty sure Maribelle is waiting for us to get a little older, before we start on the bigger, heavier swords.

"You two are done for the day. Please take some time to recuperate. Dismissed." Maribelle says simply.

"Yes, Shishou!" We say at the same time, and we start walking towards the dorm.

Kagura looks to me, still rubbing her back, with annoyance in her eyes. "I'm serious, Rubi, I'm not going to be able sit normally for week. Couldn't of you aimed somewhere else?" She whined.

I look to her and sigh. "I already said I was sorry." I say exasperated voice. I then feel a small smile make its way on my face. "Consider this revenge for hitting my tailbone a couple months ago."

Nothing is worse than hurting your tailbone. The pain just lingers there for weeks before going away.

It was her turn to sigh in exasperation.

I then slap her in the spot where I hit her, and started running at full speed. "I call using the shower first!" I yell over my shoulder, ignoring the yelp of pain from my friend.

"Rubi!" She yelled angrily, and started chasing me.

Even though I got a head start, Kagura won the race when she used her magic to pin me to the floor of our room as she rushed into the bathroom. Somehow, she was able to keep me pinned to floor as she took her sweet time taking a bath.

"Kagura! Let me go!" I yelled while pinned to floor.

"What's that!? I can't hear you!" She said in a singsong.

"Kagura!" I yell again, and I hear obnoxious whistling coming from inside.

After twenty minutes, I just accepted my fate and laid on the floor, pinned by gravity. I guess karma caught up to me.

In another twenty minutes, Kagura came out wrapped in a towel, and with the biggest, smuggest smile on her face. "You may use the bathroom now." She said simply and she released me from her gravitational prison.

I glared at her as I got up, but by this point, I was too tired to retaliate, and I decided to just walk into the bathroom.

I filled the tub with hot water, slowly sat in the water, and let out a relaxing sigh.

In my past life, I preferred showers over baths, but that changed once I entered this world. This was due to my time at the orphanage, which only had bath tubs. The orphanage had several bathrooms, since it was owned by a rich guy before becoming an orphanage, but there were still a lot more kids than bathrooms. So kids usually had a partner to take baths with so that they could be used in a timely manner and not waste so much water.

I was fortunate to have my sister as my partner. It was really awkward for me the first month after my awakening. But I got over it only because it was just my sister. I don't think I could trust anyone seeing me like that.

This world was more open on communal bathing than my previous home, which isn't surprising, considering there are plenty of bathing scenes in the anime. I don't like being naked in front of others like that, but I guess it's probably inevitable that I will have to take baths like that eventually.

I step out the tub, and pull its drain plug. I dry myself with a towel, before looking at the sink that had a fogged mirror over it. I use my towel to wipe the condensation off, and I look straight into the mirror.

A girl with wet, crimson red hair that flowed past her shoulders, and slightly rounded eyes looked back at me. Her eyes were like brilliant red rubies. I was told that my mother in this life named me after my eyes. I asked Erza once what our mother was like.

" _Nee-chan?" I say to girl laying next me in our bed. It was night time, and there was no moon out._

" _Hmmm?" She responded._

" _What was momma like?" I ask curiously._

 _She made some contemplative noises. "Well, I can't really remember much about her, but I do remember that she had red hair like we did, but it was much longer, and that she was really kind." She said wistfully._

" _How… How did she die?" I ask reluctantly._

 _Erza stayed silent for a moment, "I don't know." She said with a sad tone._

" _Don't know?" I inquire._

" _All I remember is the matron coming to our house one day and telling me that she passed, and took us here. She didn't really tell me the details, or I think I forgot them… You were a year old then." She said lowly._

 _I hear a small sob escape her, and turn towards her, and give her the best hug a four year old could. "Don't cry, Nee-chan. It doesn't suit you well. Besides, you got me, right?" I try to comfort my sister._

" _Right… Thanks Rubi." She sniffles out_

Sometimes when I look at my reflection, I don't recognize the person looking back at me, before realizing the person in the mirror is what I am now. I bring a hand up to my face and feel the smooth skin on it. I then examine my body.

Even though I was eight years old at the moment, I was definitely in the best shape of both my two lives. I didn't have much muscle definition now, but I knew that would change as I got older.

Speaking of getting older, I wonder what I will look like when I finally stop being a chibi.

XXX

 **September 3** **rd** **, X776**

Today was the Mermaid festival.

It was named in honor of the mermaid from the story, and was held annually. Every year, Mermaid Heel would throw a parade during the festival, and would end the festival with a magic show on the lake.

The magic show wasn't a simple showing of various magic spells. No, ever since Mermaid Heel was founded, the guild would do a reenactment of the battle between the mermaid and the demon for free. It was quite the sight. Celia would conjure a giant mermaid made of water and it would fight a demon constructed of fire. Surprisingly, Mermaid Heel did not have a fire mage, so the guild would hire one from another guild. When I asked Celia why this was, she shrugged and said that fire mages misinterpret our name and think that we prefer water mages. She also said that most fire mages tend to be male. I took that last statement with a grain of salt.

Anyway, I was sitting in the guild hall with Kagura. We were the only ones in the guild hall, besides Ceila, who was in her office. This was due to everyone being out and helping set up stuff around Salice.

I was wearing a blue T-shirt and black shorts, while Kagura was wearing the usual dress. We were discussing what we were going to do during the festival when heard the guild door open.

"Hey! I'm here to see the master!" Came a young man's voice.

I turn my head to see a man, who looks to be in his late twenties, with blue hair that spiked upwards and had some stubble on his chin and some above his lips. He was wearing a long blue sleeve shirt and white pants. For some reason he looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I decided to get up and great the man, since someone had to. I hear Kagura follow me. "Um, Master is upstairs, in her office, right now. What do ya need, Mister?" I ask the man as I get close to him.

He stares at Kagura and me, and then grins. "Well, little lady, I'm a wizard and I want to discuss some things with the master." He says in a cheerful tone.

I furrow my brow, "You do realize that this is a female only guild, Stranger-san… Unless you really are a woman, and you are deciding look like a man." I say.

He made a choking sound before recovering quickly. "No, no, I'm here for a job request." He said while pulling out a flyer from his pocket, and pointing to it. "See. It says 'Fire Mage required for festival. Must be able to manipulate fire into large shapes. 200,000 jewels' and I definitely fit the bill." He said before holding out his hand and conjuring purple flames to his palms. That got an ooo from Kagura.

The purple fire was bringing some more feelings of déjà vu, but I ignored it. "Oh. You're here for the Mermaid festival." I say simply. "Master will most likely be down in a few minutes."

He then smiles, "Well, I guess I can wait for a little bit. I did have long walk here."

I turn around, "Please have a seat, there are plenty." I say, and I gesture him to follow me. The three of us then sit at the table that Kagura and I were sitting at.

The man looks at us with a cheerful expression on his face. "So… little ladies, what are your names."

"I'm Kagura Mikazuchi"

"And I'm Rubina Crimson"

"Well, those are very nice names…Tell me, what are the two of you doing in here on such a lovely day? Shouldn't you be out and about with the other kids?"

"We have nothing to do, and Master said that she has something for us." Kagura responded and I nod in agreement with her.

"Hmm, are you two mages?" He asks curiously.

I shake my head, "No, we are only eight, but we will be." I say cheerfully.

"Yeah, we are going to be the strongest around." Kagura added.

He let out a chuckle, "Well, I wish you two the best then."

Before the two of us could respond, we were interrupted. "I heard someone calling me?" Came Celia's voice.

I look behind me to see her walking down the stairs in a mermaid costume. She had a clam shell bra covering her breasts, and the bottom part ended in a fish tail. Her hair was wavy, and had an aquatic theme going on.

The man got up and started walking over to her. "Ah, yes. I came here for the job request." He then extended his hand as he got to her. "I'm Macao Conbolt, wizard of Fairy Tail."

It takes all my willpower to keep myself from freaking out right now. Thankfully, I keep a straight face.

Of course I would run into some from the very guild I was trying to avoid. I can hear some divine being laughing at me once again.

Celia face then becomes flat as she shakes his hand. "Ah yes, Fairy Tail… Good guild, nothing bad about it. Except for your master though. I'm not particularly fond of him" She said in a neutral tone.

The man, Macao, started rubbing the back of his head, "Oh yeah… I apologize for his behavior at last the guild master meeting. He didn't mean for that fight to get out of hand." He said sheepishly.

Celia then got annoyed and angry, "It isn't just his stupid his stupid feud with that phantom idiot that pisses me off! That old perverted imp keeps trying to cop a feel, and if he tries to do it one more time, he'll feel my wrath, wizard saint or not." She seethed out, and she was breathing heavy.

Macao was cowering a little from Celia's venting. I feel bad for him. Celia was very scary when she was angry.

She then took a deep breath, "Sorry about that… I had that building up for a while, and it was wrong of me to take it out on you." She apologized with a sigh.

Macao recovers, but is still sweating bullets from Celia's outburst. "Hey, no problem. Master can be eccentric at times, but he is a good man at heart."

Celia rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever… You said you were here for the job?"

Macao nodded, and conjured purple flames to his hands.

Celia raised a brow, "Well, that's definitely fire, but would it be possible for you to use normal colored fire for this? It's okay if you can't, but the color purple is not what most people associate with fire."

Macao nodded once more, "Of course. I would be a pretty pathetic fire mage if I couldn't at least change the color of my fire." He said simply.

Celia then smirked, "Well then, you're hired." She then pointed to the back door to the side of the stage. "Go see Lana out back. She is the one with the bright green hair, and spider themed clothing. Can't miss her."

Macao then started walking towards the door Celia pointed to, opened it, and walked out. I followed him with my eyes the entire time.

"I thought he was pretty cool." Kagura staged whispered.

"…Yeah, sure." I respond.

"Kagura! Rubi! Come over here, I have a surprise for ya." Came Celia's voice. I looked back at her and see that she is holding two white boxes.

Kagura and I look at each other, before we walk over to her.

Celia had a huge smirk on her face as she handed us each a box. "Congratulations, Brats, you get to be in the parade this year!" She cheered. "Go put those on and meet me back here"

I had a bad feeling about this.

"Awesome!" Kagura exclaimed excitedly.

There was a mischievous glint in Celia's eye.

XXX

This is perhaps the most humiliating moment in my entire life. Of all time.

I was riding on a parade float that was shaped like a giant rock. The float had three flat areas on different elevations for people sit on. Normally, I wouldn't have minded riding on a parade float, but because of what was in the box Celia gave me, it made it very embarrassing.

Inside the boxes that she gave us were child sized versions of what she was wearing. Kagura was a little more enthusiastic about it than I was. But I think that was because she was a legitimate child, and wasn't a man in a previous life.

The mermaid costume had a green lower half and a clamshell bra, which I didn't understand why a child costume would have, but whatever. It took Kagura almost an hour to convince me to put it on. I undid the braid that I had my hair in, and let it flow straight. With this costume and my distinctively red hair, I looked like the freaking little mermaid. All I needed was a talking crab and a yellow fish with blue fins.

Anyway, I was sitting on the lowest platform while Kagura was on the one above me. On top was Celia playing with her water magic. It was night time and the float was driving down the main street of Salice, towards the guild. A crowd of people were on both sides of the street, and Kagura and I were waving to them with fake cheer, or at least I was. The streets were filled with various festive lights, and the sounds of people having a good time could be heard from all directions. I think I heard various kids, more specifically little girls yell out "Mermaid! Mermaid! I wanna be a mermaid!"

I was doing everything in my power to not blush furiously. I did not like being in this type of outfit, no matter how cute it made me look.

We eventually reach the guild building and the float turns and starts driving around the guild. It then starts heading towards the lake.

' _What?'_

I look up to Celia, who doesn't look worried at all.

"Um… Master? Why are we heading towards the lake?" Kagura asked for me.

A smirk appeared on her face, "It's time for the festival finale, and we can't have the finale without the battle between the demon and the mermaid, can we?"

"Master, this a parade float, not a boat! We're gonna sink!" I shout as we got closer to the water.

She then waved her hand dismissively, "Meh, we'll be fine."

The float then crashes into the water and I close my eyes, and get ready to sink into the water. After a few seconds, I notice that I'm not drenched in water yet, and I open my eyes to notice that we weren't sinking. We were floating towards the middle of the lake.

I then hear Celia chuckle, "As you can see, it's not just a parade float."

I glare at her and stick my tongue out. She ignores it and looks forward at a barge that was in the middle. "Ok, brats, are you ready for a front row seat to the show?" She asks, before her hands glowed blue.

A giant mass of water suddenly starts rising from the lake, and forms itself into a shape of a mermaid. A fifty foot tall mermaid, give or take.

Something on the barge then glowed red-orange, and fire erupted from the barge. That must be Macao. The large plume of fire grew enormous and shaped itself into a demonic shape. It was a similar size to the gigantic mermaid in front of me.

I look up to see Celia standing up and with a serious expression on her face, her hands glowing a bright, brilliant blue. I look back at the fiery demon to see it shoot a giant blast of fire at us.

I hear Kagura let out an audible "Eeep!"And I put my arms up to try to defend myself. Suddenly, a giant wall of water is raised and the fire crashes into it, producing a crap ton of steam.

I look to Celia, who had both hands out in front of her, and then to the mermaid, which was mimicking her movements. Celia then moved her arms in a way that reminded me of waterbending. The mermaid copied the arm movements and a massive wave came out of the water and rapidly made its way towards the fiery giant.

The demon split the wave with whip of fire, and launched multiple fire balls at the mermaid. The balls of fiery death was meet with large tendrils of water. The mermaid then lifted a massive amount water out of the lake, and put both hands out in front of it. Suddenly, hundreds of water spheres started shooting out the massive water blob.

They were meet with the demon's own wall of fire.

These back and forth attacks continued for another ten minutes before the mermaid summoned a massive tidal wave and finally overwhelmed the fiery beast. Cheers could be heard around the lake, the mermaid bowed, and the magic construct collapsed back into the lake.

That was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Of all time. Seeing it up close was definitely better than seeing it from the beach, like last year.

Kagura and I were speechless, but then we both start clapping. I look up to see Celia panting a little, but with a pleased expression on her face.

Despite me wearing this embarrassing outfit, this day didn't turn out that bad.

I didn't see Macao after that, but I presume he rented out a room at an inn and went back to his guild the next morning.

* * *

I bet you weren't expecting Macao to make a short appearance. He is 28 in this chapter by the way. If you are wondering why he didn't make any connections between Rubina and Erza, it's because Erza was very reclusive for her first months in fairy tail. Also, she probably won't mention that she has relatives if she is trying to protect her sister. Also, she is still missing an eye.

I wrote this chapter to expand more on what magic can do. I also wanted to do some more world building. I hope my action scenes were better than my last attempt.

Anyone who can spot the Red vs Blue references gets brownie points.

I'm gonna take a break for a few days.


	13. X777

**This chapter took forever to write. At 7,777 words (not including author notes), it holds the record for my longest chapter. And yes, that word count was intentional.**

* * *

 **X777**

 **March, X777**

" **Crimson Bolt!** " I yell as a huge red lightning bolt shoots out of my hand towards a half buried log. As soon as the lightning bolt hits the log, it explodes, sending chunks of it everywhere.

Over these past several months, I've been struggling with some of the lightning spells that were listed in my spell book. Since my magic likes to give me trouble, it does not agree with most of the spells in the book. Meaning it often explodes when I try the more advanced spells. Thankfully, I don't get burned anymore, due to my passive magic shield finally being strong enough to protect me from my magic.

Since my magic is not agreeing with some of the more advanced spells, I've been experimenting with my magic and coming up with spells that work, or adapting some of the spells from the book, and making them my own. My magic favored the spells that required a lot power and less control, so the more precise spells did not work out so well. It also favored spells that I personally come up with.

It sometimes takes forever to modify a spell so that I could use it more easily with my magic. It sometimes takes hours to mess with magic outputs, stances, body movements, and many other factors. The first spell I modified, was the Lightning Bolt spell. I was able to make it stronger, but use less magic power at the same time. I dubbed the modified spell "Crimson Bolt", because since my life seems to be based around the color red right now, I might as well name it that.

Next to the exploded log was another one, and I prepared my next move. I start sparking red electricity around my body and I get into a fighting stance. I then lunge at the second log, my fist forward and leaving a trail of electricity in my wake.

" **Thunder Punch!** " I yell as my fist connects with the log. A large chunk of the log chips off and goes flying.

Thunder Punch was one of the spells that worked. In fact, most moves that involved punching or kicking worked pretty well and didn't need much tweaking for me to use.

There was still some log leftover, and I give it a magic enhanced roundhouse kick to finish it off. My foot hits what's left of the log, and it breaks with a loud crack. I still had some energy left, but unfortunately, I ran out of logs to destroy. Darn.

"Well, Kid, if you keep this up, you'll end up killing an entire forest. I've lost count how many logs you've destroyed." Came Celia's voice from behind me.

I turn around to see her looking at me with her usual smirk.

I sigh, "I'm sorry, Master, but I can't exactly practice on live targets, so logs will have to do." I say.

"Oh, I know, it just gets tiring to keep replacing these logs all the time." She said while making a dismissive hand gesture. "Anyway, Maribelle wants to see you. She says to bring your wooden sword thing."

"It's called a bokken, Master." I correct, which earns an eye roll from Celia. "Did Shishou say what she wanted me for?" I then questioned.

Celia shrugs her shoulders, but still keeps her smirk on her face. "Nope. No idea." She says unconvincingly.

I eye her with suspicion, but I come to the conclusion that she won't tell me what I want to know.

I eventually acquire my bokken and I find myself standing next to Kagura, and Maribelle is in front of us.

"Did your latest job go well, Shishou?" Kagura inquires.

Maribelle nods her head, "Yes, Kagura, it went very well… But I did not call you two hear about my adventures. No, I called both of you here to teach you a very special lesson." She said calmly.

She then drew her katana and the blade started glowing white. "Today, I am going to teach you how to enhance your weapon with magic power. This will be the basis of what is known as 'Sword Magic', which is a very diverse magic with many forms."

I was starting to get really excited, and I could feel a grin on my face. I was wondering when I was going to learn a different magic from my own.

"Sword Magic can be as simple as enhancing your swords strength and cutting power, to adding special properties to it such as elemental effects or making any strike explosive… It is a very versatile magic, and it will be very beneficial to your magic career." She continued.

She then pointed at the bokken that were in both our hands. "You will learn how to channel magic power through those first, because wood is harder to channel magic through than metal. If you can achieve that, then you can easily apply it to actual metal swords. Now get into your stances, and listen closely."

We both nod and we get into our combat stances.

"First, you must will your magic power to flow through the length of your blade. Be careful not to channel too much, or you blade will explode… Rubina, try not to channel lightning, but instead channel just pure magic power. Kagura, you don't have to worry about much, as your magic is less volatile and can be controlled easier." She instructs.

I nod, and I close my eyes. I start to will my magic power to flow through the bokken that I was gripping with two hands. Right away, I felt the wood resist, and I start to increase my output very slowly and very carefully. I didn't want this thing to explode and send splinters everywhere.

I start to sweat a little, but I feel my magic starting to slowly make its way through the rest of the bokken. I increase the power up a one more notch and I finally feel it flowing throughout the entire bokken.

I open my eyes and see that the bokken has a red aura around it. I look to my left, and see Kagura's bokken surrounded by a blue aura. I look back at my own and start to stare at it. It was kind of hypnotizing.

"Excellent. I knew you two could do it." Came Maribelle's voice, which snaps me out of my stupor. "Now, you will continue to do that, until I say to stop." She said simply.

"Yes Shishou!" Kagura and I both exclaim.

This didn't feel very tiring, so I think I can hold it for a while. Unfortunately, Maribelle made us hold it for two hours, before she said to stop. It was very difficult to hold it for that long. She dismissed us and said to be prepared to do the same thing tomorrow.

This was going to be torture.

XXX

 **1 Week Later…**

After a week of just channeling magic power through a wooden sword continuously for several hours at a time, I gotten very good at it, and could hold it for about three hours before I started feeling the burn.

Anyway, Kagura and I were standing next to each other, still doing what we have been doing for the past week. But we gotten good enough that we could hold a conversation with each other without disrupting our concentration.

I hear Kagura sigh, "Ya know… I kind of wish I had your magic sometimes, Rubi."

I look to her and I feel my brow furrow. "Why is that?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Well, I don't know how I could apply my magic to my sword, but I can think of several ways that you could apply yours. I don't know, it just seems like this particular magic is more suited towards you, and there isn't much use in me learning more than the basics." She says rather casually, despite how negative her words were.

I let out a sigh, "Well, I do agree that I can get more uses out of sword magic, but I don't think that there is no way you could apply your magic to your sword." I say, trying to cheer her up.

She looks at me, her face filled curiosity. "Really?"

I nod my head, "Yeah. You have control over gravity right?" I ask rhetorically, to which she nods. "Well, what if you increased or decreased the gravitational pull of your sword… Like if you want to deflect something, you could use a gravitational force to push something away. Or if want to cut or stab something, you could use gravity to pull something towards your blade. You could mess with the gravitational field around your sword and really mess with someone." I lectured

Kagura looks away from me. "Huh… I never thought of that…" A grin then appears on her face, "Thanks, Rubi! I'll see if I can do that." She says cheerfully.

I smile, "You're welcome. I'm happy to help."

XXX

 **April, X777**

I was sitting at a table in the guild hall. In my hand was a clear white crystal.

It was a lacrima.

More specifically, a blank lacrima that Maribelle got me at my request.

The crystal felt like a white quartz crystal, and was vaguely shaped like one as well. I only had a small crystal because it was really expensive to get such a refined crystal like the one I was holding. I was surprised Maribelle even got me one, so I asked her why she got me such a refined crystal, she said that it was gift for working so hard.

Lacrima was a weird, but wonderful substance. Like duct tape, it could be used for some many different uses. You could charge it with your magic, use it as a long range communication device, have it show movies, tan your skin, make it explode, and so much more. If you're lucky enough, you could find a dragon lacrima and get dragon slayer powers. It was a magic crystalline substance that could be programmed to do almost everything.

That was the part I was most interested in. I needed something that I could store my magic power in and be able use that power for later use, and also be able to recharge it as well. Like a battery. This was exactly the thing I needed for my project. Unfortunately, I could tell already that the crystal in my hand was too small, and wasn't dense enough to contain the required amount of magic I needed. I would have to wait until I was an official mage, and start earning money before I can buy most of the materials for my project.

"Whatcha doing, Rubi-nee?" comes Araña's voice.

I stop examining the crystal in my hand to see the seven year old sitting across the table from me with Mr. and Mrs. Fuzzy on the table.

Ever since Araña turned six, she has been coming to the guild more often. She also got another stuffed spider, which she calls Mrs. Fuzzy. Anyway, since she has been coming to the guild more often, she started adding the "nee" suffix after Kagura and I's names. I think it's pretty cute, but I hope she doesn't call me "Rubi-nee" forever. Hopefully I can get her to stop when she is older.

I sigh, "Nothing much, Araña-chan, just examining this crystal that Shishou gave me." I say calmly.

Her eyes grew curious, "What type of crystal is it, Rubi-nee? What does it do?" She inquired.

"Hmm… Well, this is known as a lacrima. It is a magical substance that can do many things. This one in particular is known as a blank lacrima, which means that it hasn't been modified to anything yet, and is a blank slate for me to do whatever I want with it." I explain carefully.

"Oh." She lets out. Her brow then furrows, "What are you going to do with it, Rubi-nee?" She asks curiously.

"Well, I'm experimenting with this crystal, and seeing what I can do with it. After that, I will hopefully get more crystals and use them on a secret project that I'm working on." I say simply.

She then grew even more curious, "What's the project, Rubi-nee?" She asks.

I put on a small smile, "It's a secret, Araña-chan, and I can't exactly tell you what it is. Besides, I promised Kagura that I would show her first." I say teasingly.

"But, I really want to know…" She pouts, and I let out a giggle.

"How about I show you after I show Kagura. Is that fair?" I ask.

Her faces brightens, "Sure!" She says cheerfully. She then grabbed her two stuffed spiders, "I think I have to go now. I think Momma is waiting for me at the classroom. Bye, Rubi-nee!" She says, before running off.

"Bye, Araña-chan." I respond, before I bring my attention back to the crystal in my hand.

I then start channeling the smallest amount of magic power that I could muster, and I carefully start pumping it into the crystal as slowly as I could. The crystal goes from an almost clear white crystal, to one that is tinted a light red almost immediately. As I keep pumping magic power into it, the red tint becomes more and more solid, before the crystal turns completely red.

I stop the flow of magic so that it doesn't explode, and I examine it once more. Right away, something about it feels different. Before, it was pretty inert, and I didn't feel anything from it. But now, I can feel the magic power within it. I then close my eyes, and start concentrating on the power that was in the crystal and try to draw it out. At first, I felt nothing, but then I felt the magic power drain back into me from the crystal.

After I could extract no more, I open my eyes and see that the crystal is now tinted a light red. It will probably be like that forever now, but that's okay, I got what I needed from it.

I repeat the process of filling the crystal with magic and then drain it again. I feel a grin on my face. I just made a magical battery that could be recharged. I repeat the recharging and draining process over and over again. It never got old.

This would do nicely for my project, but I would need a super high density lacrima, and those were not cheap. One pound of the stuff was 500,000 jewels, and I needed a couple pounds of it to experiment with. It's going to take me forever to get that kind of money.

I let out a sigh, "First world problems."

XXX

I was by the lakefront, still experimenting with my lacrima crystal. I already confirmed that I can make it act like a magic battery, and store or absorb magic from it at will, but I want to see how far away I can get from it and still be able to influence it. I borrowed a chair from the guild hall, and I place the crystal on the seat. I then walk about fifty feet away, turn around and face towards the crystal.

I then extend my hand and start concentrating on the crystal. I have my eyes closed and I could feel the magically charged crystal. I try to influence the magic power in the crystal, but nothing happens. I then walk about ten feet closer, and try again. I feel the magic energy in the crystal move a little, but nothing major happens.

I then shorten my distance to the crystal to about thirty feet. I get a much better reaction at this distance. I hear a sparking sound and I open my eyes and see the crystal shooting out little sparks of crimson electricity. I feel myself grin, and I walk ten feet closer.

The sparks get bigger, and they start shooting towards the direction of my hand. I walk another five feet and long arcs of electricity start connecting with my hand. I start gathering the electricity in my hand and I shoot out the excess energy towards the lake.

Before I could continue my experimentation, the chair that the crystal was on suddenly catches fire. "Shit!" I exclaim and I immediately run over the chair, grab the crystal and put it into my pocket. I then immediately grab the chair and I dragged it into the lake, putting out the fire.

I was panting from the adrenaline rush.

"You know… Master is not going to be happy when she finds out you burnt one of her chairs" Came Kagura's voice, which made me yelp in surprise.

I turn around to see her looking at me with amused expression.

"Well, Kagura, she won't find out. I'll just dispose of the evidence before she finds out. No one saw me take it out of the guild hall and she doesn't have a surveillance lacrima." I counter back, and I immediately charge my hands with magic power, and shoot a high powered bolt of lightning at the floating chair in the water. It immediately explodes into thousands of pieces and those pieces float out to the middle of the lake.

Kagura rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "You didn't have to do that, Rubi. You could have just put it in the woods." She says flatly.

I cross my arms, "Nope, there mustn't be any evidence! You know how scary Master is when she is angry!" I exclaim.

Kagura sighs again, "Well… I can't disagree on that, so I guess I can't blame ya." She reluctantly agrees. Her face then grows curious, "What were you doing? Why did that chair catch on fire?" She asks.

"Well, remember my project I was telling you about?" I ask and she nods in response. "Well, I was experimenting with how much I could manipulate a lacrima charged with my magic, and well… I guess a stray spark caught the chair on fire…" I trailed off. "…Yeah… Not my greatest moment." I say with a hint of embarrassment.

Kagura smiles, "I think we she get out of here before Master gets curious and comes outside." She said jovially, and then let out a giggle. "Come on, let's go."

I grin, "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Later that day, Celia went on a witch hunt, but never found her missing chair. Kagura and I were sweating bullets as Celia looked everywhere, but luckily, she never suspected us.

XXX

 **July 7** **th** **, X777**

I was standing across from Kagura. In my hand was a slightly longer than normal bokken than what we been practicing with. The reason why was because we were learning how to use the bigger swords of the katana family, known as nodachi or ōdachi.

The particular style we were learning was known as the Style of the Undrawn Long Sword, which involved various stances or "forms" to achieve different things. Strong form was for stabbing, shield form was for defense, and slashing form was for slashing. Those were the three basic forms of this style of sword combat. Maribelle said that she really didn't favor this particular style of combat, because she finds larger swords too bulky and she doesn't like the stances of the style.

I myself didn't particularly care for it either, but Kagura loved it. She took an immediate liking to it, and was more skilled at it than I was.

I position my right hand on the hilt of the bokken and my left on where the sheathe would be. I get into what was known as the slashing form. In response Kagura widens her stance, and grips her bokken the same way I do, but she positioned her sword in a more defensive position.

I immediately lunge at her with magic enhanced speed and start striking at her with a fury of rapid slashes. She manages to block every one and somehow finds a hole in my offensive. She lunges her bokken forwards in attempt to stab me, but I leap backwards and she misses. I continue to leap backwards until I'm about twenty feet away.

It was Kagura's turn to go on the offensive and she starts sprinting at me with great speed. She uses her magic enhanced muscles to jump high into the air. She positions her bokken into a stabbing position and she gets into the strong form.

I leap back once again, and she lands where I was previously standing, her bokken went into ground with little effort. I see the ground visibly crack under the extreme force of her strike.

Wow, she is really getting into this.

She immediately pulls her bokken out the cracked ground and lunges at me again in her own slashing form. I get into the shield form and try to fend off her savagely fast strikes. I'm not as good as Kagura with this style, so she is able to hit harder, faster, and way more precise. The only advantage I had over her was that I was taller than her, and had a greater reach.

I start to struggle against the tsunami of sword strikes and eventually hits my hand, which causes me to loose grip, and she hits the bokken out of my hands, sending it flying.

I immediately start shaking my hand because of the pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" I say in response.

"Kagura wins." Comes Maribelle's voice.

I see Kagura with an apologetic face, "I'm sorry, Rubi! I didn't mean to hit that hard." She apologized quickly.

At this point, a little bit of the pain had worn off, but my hand was still shaking. "It's ok. I'll be fine." I respond, before I feel a smile make its way upon my face. "But I don't think the ground is so lucky as me." I say and I point to the spot where Kagura cracked open like an egg.

Kagura looks to where I was pointing and looks back at me with a visible blush on her face. "Oops! I think I over did it a little." She says with an embarresed voice.

"Maybe just a bit. Thank God I dodged that, otherwise, I would be sporting a gigantic bruise right now." I tease. I then extend my hand and she shakes it.

"You two are dismissed for the day." Maribelle says, and we both start walking back to the dorms.

As we are walking, I look to Kagura. "Well, it looks like we found your preferred sword style. I could barely keep up with ya." I compliment.

She smiles and looks at me, "You really think so?"

"Yeah, definitely. You looked like a master of that style already." I reaffirm my compliment.

"Thank you, Rubi. You were not so bad yourself, but I could tell that you felt uncomfortable using that style." It was her turn to complement.

Before I could respond, something in the back of my head goes off and I stop walking immediately. I feel gigantic source of power coming from the west, which was behind me. I whip around, but see nothing out of the usual.

I forgot to mention this, but as I have been getting stronger in the magic arts, I have been able to sense sources of magic. I could only sense large sources so far, but I have been getting better at it. I also had to be close to something to sense it. So for me to be able to sense such a large source of magic, but it to be nowhere in sight. The source must be extremely ginormous.

"What's wrong, Rubi?" I hear Kagura ask in concern.

I don't look at her, as I'm transfixed at the horizon, which was the direction the power source.

"Do you feel that? The giant source of magic?" I ask.

She stays silent for a moment. "Yeah… I think I feel something…" Says slowly.

Maribelle then appears in front of us. Her face was serious. "I assume you two sense that enormous presence coming from the west as well?" She asked with a serious tone.

I node, and I assume that Kagura does as well.

"You two get back to the dorms, and stay there. I have to talk to master." She commanded

"Yes, Shisou!" We both exclaim loudly and we start sprinting to the dorms.

The large source of magic disappeared eventually, and we were given the all clear to leave our rooms. I asked Celia what was the cause of the large magic presence, and she said that she didn't know.

So caught up in the excitement, I didn't notice that the date was July 7th, X777.

XXX

 **August 30** **th** **, X777**

It was early, nine o'clock to be exact, and I was sitting in the guildhall with Kagura. The guild hall was empty because the Mermaid Festival was in a few days, and most of the guild members were once again setting things up around Salice.

"Hey, brats, I need ya for something." Comes Celia's voice, and we both turn around and see her tapping her foot. "I need to go to Hargeon to get a ton of fireworks, but I need some extra hands to carry it all."

"Yes, Master!" We both exclaim, and we get up and follow her out the door of the guild.

We eventually end up right in front of Celia's magic four-wheeler. It was a covered in a cool aquatic design with pictures of sea life painted on. Celia hops into the driver seat and attaches a black strap to her arm that has a tube coming out of it.

She then looks at us, "Ok, hop in the back, we don't have all day."

I nod and walk up to the vehicle. I open the door to the cabin behind the driver seat, and I look back to see Kagura sporting a fearful face. She hadn't moved an inch.

"What's wrong, Kagura?" I ask with a concern laden voice.

"I-I'm not going in one of those again! Not after last time!" She exclaims nervously.

Last time? I don't remember me or her ever riding in Celia's four-wheeler. In fact, this will be our the first time leaving Salice.

"Last time?" I question out loud.

I suddenly hear Celia snickering.

"You still hung over about that, Kid? That was a long time ago!" She laughed out.

"That wasn't funny, Master! Not at all!" Kagura yelled back.

Ok, I definitely missing something. "Can some please tell me what's going on!" I shout.

"Oh, she is a little upset at me for going too fast with you and her in the back. The reason you don't remember this, was because you were unconscious from the head wound you received on the day I found you two." Celia explained while snickering. "Kagura-chan is just being a baby about it."

"I am not! You could have injured me as well!" She pouted angrily.

I sigh, "Come on, Kagura, we don't have time for this. Can we just get a move on already?" I say in exasperation.

Kagura looks at me, and then to Celia with suspicion, before finally giving in and starts walking over the vehicle. "Fine, but you better not do what you did last time, Master." She says seriously.

"Sure, Kid. I don't have an injured person to transport anyway." She says with a smirk.

Kagura and I get into the vehicle and we sit opposite from each other. Kagura frantically starts buckling herself up with a seatbelt.

I raise a brow as I buckle up my own seat belt. "Was it really that bad?" I inquire.

She starts nodding her head rapidly. "Yes, it was that bad. It was just after she found us, and she had you strapped in while you were unconscious. I wasn't strapped in and she drove it like a crazy person."

I feel the vehicle start moving and I see Kagura visibly tense up. "Calm down, Kagura. I don't think she will do that on this trip. Besides, aren't you excited to leave Salice for a little bit? Because I am."

Kagura calms down a little, "I guess… But if she drives crazily again, I think I'm going to lose my mind." She said, and I giggled at her paranoia.

"Just relax, everything will be fine." I giggle out

She stays silent, and we stop speaking to each other, so I decide to start taking a nap. I lose track of time, but I am awakened by the four-wheeler stopping. I open my eyes and start stretching. "Are we there yet?" I ask with a hint of tiredness.

Kagura shakes her head, "No, you were only asleep for half an hour. Master stopped for something." She then got out of her seat, rolled down one of the windows, and looked outside. "It seems that she stopped for a boy. He looks a little bit older than us… I think he is a hitchhiker."

"Hitchhiker?" I echo.

"Yeah, and it looks Master is going to give him ride." She says, and she comes to my side of the cabin and sits next to me.

The door opens and reveals a face that made heart stop in my chest.

It was Jellel. There was no mistaking it. He had the blue hair and the very distinctive eye tattoo. Why do I keep attracting trouble? I got lucky with Macao, but he wasn't a possessed lunatic that was willing to sacrifice my sister to resurrect a guy that wasn't even dead.

It takes herculean effort to keep myself calm and not betray any of the emotions that I was currently feeling right now.

"Ah, hello there." He says calmly with a small smile on his face. He was wearing a black shirt and white pants that had a short red stripe on both sides. He was carrying a large back pack and had a large wooden staff that was wrapped at the top, and was formed into a circle at the end.

"I was just walking to Hargeon, and I noticed that you guys were going the same direction." He said as he climbed into the cabin and sat down across from us. I followed him with my eyes, watching every move he makes, waiting for him to do something. "I have been walking a lot, and I needed a short rest, so I asked your Master if she could give me a ride, and she agreed."

He then extends his hand, "I'm Je-*cough* I mean Mystogan."

What… Oh great, Jellel's Edolas counterpart. That means that I have runned into another member of the guild that I was trying to avoid. Before you know it, I'll somehow run into all of them at once. Well, at least he isn't the crazy Jellel. That would be pretty bad.

I reluctantly extend my hand and shake his hand. "My name is Rubina Crimson." I say as calmly as I could.

"And I'm Kagura Mikazuchi." Kagura introduces herself out loud.

Mystogan nods his head, "Nice to meet you two." He says. He then takes of his back pack it puts it on the seat next him. He then lets out a relaxed sigh as he sits back into the chair.

"So… Why are you traveling by yourself?" I question.

"Well, I like to travel the world, and I have things to do, places to go." He says with a shrug. But from what I could remember of Mystogan, he was trying to stop something. I think it was called anima.

"Don't you get lonely?" Kagura asks.

Something flickers briefly in his eyes, but if you weren't watching him closely like I was, it would be unnoticeable. "Sometimes I do, but that's fine… Actually I had a traveling companion, but I determined it was too dangerous for her to be traveling with me, so I left her at a guild to keep her safe."

I furrow my brows in fake confusion. If I remember correctly, he traveled with Wendy for a short period. "Dangerous…" I echo. "Are you a mage?" I question, already knowing the answer.

His face flashes briefly in surprise, before a small smile appears on his face. "Heh, you would be correct in that assumption. I guess my staff gave it away didn't it?"

I nod.

"Wow, that's cool." Kagura says. "What type of magic do you use?" She then asks.

"Well, I use this staff to do a variety of things. I can cast a multitude of spells with it." He responds.

"Are you part of a guild?" I inquire, even though I probably already know the answer.

"No, I'm not currently in a guild yet, but I plan on joining one soon." A curious expression the makes its way upon on his face. "How about you two? Are you mages?"

"No, but we will be next year, though." Kagura answers for me.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what magic do you two use?" He asks curiously.

"I use gravity magic, while Rubi here…" Kagura then points to me, "Uses lightning magic that has a pretty red tint."

At her last statement, I feel my face flush. "Don't call my magic pretty! It's not supposed to be pretty!" I exclaim, which earned a giggle from Kagura, and even Mystogan chuckled a bit. "You stay out of this!" I say while pointing at him. That made him chuckle even more.

I eventually calm down enough to ask him some more questions. "Is there any particular reason you are heading to Hargeon?" I ask, genuinely curious this time.

He shrugs, "Well, I need some supplies, and Hargeon has a big variety of stuff that I could need. So I figured it was the best place to go to get everything I need. It is a major port after all, so it stands to reason it will have a lot of different goods from many different places." He explained. "Plus, it is a major railroad hub, and I can get across Fiore faster if I go there and take a train."

Before I could ask any more questions, the four-wheeler comes to a stop. "Ok, brats, we're here!" Come Celia's voice from outside.

Mystogan then starts putting his back pack on. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways. Maybe we could cross paths again in the future." He then gets up and leaves the cabin of the vehicle.

We follow him out of the four-wheeler and see him toss a small bag a Celia. "Here is something for the ride." He then starts walking into the port city.

"See ya later!" Kagura shouts.

He looks over his shoulder and waves. He then turns right and starts walking down a different street. That was the last we saw of him.

"Ok, brats, follow me closely. Hargeon is a big town and I don't want ya getting lost." Celia says.

"Yes, Master!" We both say in unison and we follow her through the bustling town.

Hargeon was truly amazing. It was right on the ocean, which was as blue as the Mediterranean Sea. The buildings were way bigger than the ones in Salice, and there were way more people as well. I was truly in awe of the town, and it felt great to go somewhere new in this world. I wonder if I could fine the spot where Lucy met Natsu for the first time.

I'm eventually snapped out of my trance of admiring the city by Celia suddenly stopping in front of a large building that had a large sign on it that said "Fireworks!" She then opens the door and we follow her inside.

The building was loaded with rows upon rows of fireworks, and I could easily smell the gunpowder in the air. This brought a wave of nostalgia over me, as I used to go to a large fireworks warehouse just like this one in my previous life.

"Ok, brats, I'm going to get a lot of fireworks, and I'm going to need your help carrying it all." She then points to some carts that were next to the entrance of the building. "So grab a cart and follow me."

At the end of the day, Celia ended up spending over 500,000 jewels on fireworks.

On the trip back to Salice, all I was thinking about was my earlier encounter with Mystogan. He must have already met Wendy and dropped her off already. I was also thinking about whether or not I would be running into anymore canon characters unexpectedly. Hopefully I don't, but I guess I'm not in control of who I meet.

XXX

 **January 4** **th** **, X778**

Well, it was official. I was now ten years old, and legally old enough the join the guild and officially become a mage.

I was currently in the guildhall with Kagura, Celia, Maribelle, Lana, and Araña. I was sitting in front of a birthday cake with ten candles in it. Everyone, even Maribelle, was wearing a birthday hat, and were singing the happy birthday song.

I have a large grin on my face as I blow out the candles on the cake.

Lana then removes the candles and starts cutting the cake, and hands me the first piece. I use a fork to put a piece of it in my mouth and let out an audible moan at the taste of it.

It was strawberry flavored, which for some reason, this body liked a lot. It was really weird when I first awoken in this new body. I acquired quite the sweet tooth, and as I got older, it just got worse and worse. I found myself liking things that I never really cared for in my previous life. A prime example was cake. I never really liked cake in my previous life, but now, I absolutely loved the stuff. Especially if it was strawberry flavored, which I found ironic, because I knew Erza loved strawberries as well. I guess I'm more like her than I thought.

After I, and everyone else was done eating cake, it was time to open presents. The first was from Araña and Lana. "Happy birthday, Rubi-nee!" Araña said as she hands me a large gift bag that was stuffed with colorful tissue paper. I remove the paper, and pulled out a large spider plushy. It was very similar to Mr. Fuzzy, but instead of it being black, it was a bright red.

"That's 's cousin. His name is Mr. Red." She says cheerfully.

"Happy birthday, Rubi-chan." Lana says

I smile, "Thank you, Araña-chan. Lana-san"

The next was from Maribelle. She hands me a long rectangular box that was wrapped in white wrapping paper. I rip off the wrapping paper and open the box to find two Japanese style swords. The smaller one was a wakizashi and the other was a full sized katana. They both had black hilts and black sheathes. I have a mile wide grin on my face.

She had a small smile on her face, "Since you are of age, and can finally become a mage, I decided to get you something that you can use. The larger sword is for when you are older, so for now, you can use the smaller one until you grow into the larger one." She says calmly.

I bow my head slightly, "Thank you, Shishou!" I say excitedly.

It was Celia and Kagura's turn.

"I told Master what would be an awesome gift for ya!" Kagura says excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I hope ya appreciate this, Kid." Celia says in a joking tone as she puts a large box in front of me. When I open the box, I find myself speechless.

Inside was a solid black acoustic guitar with a red lightning bolt on the pick guard.

"Kagura said that you liked to play the guitar, and Maribelle said that you have been borrowing one of hers for a while, so I went out of my way to get this one made for ya." Celia explained.

"U-Uh." Is all I could get out. "T-Thank you. I don't know what to say." I manage to say.

I see Kagura grin brightly. "Well, are you going to play something? You should sing something!"

I feel my face heat up at her request. "I don't think anyone wants to hear me sing, Kagura…" I didn't like being the center of attention like that.

"Nonsense, Kid. You might as well play us a tune… You can't be as bad as the guild on karaoke night." Celia says encouragingly.

"Yeah, Rubi-nee! I wanna hear a song!" Araña shouts excitedly, and Lana just nodded encouragingly.

I look to Maribelle, who had a small smile on her face, "Go ahead, Rubina. I am sure you will play well."

I sigh, but my face is still very warm. "Ok… fine… I'll do one song…" I finally relent. I then pick up the solid black guitar and start tuning it. I hear Kagura and Araña cheer in excitement.

Over this past year and a half, I've gotten much better at playing a guitar. I have improved my playing speed significantly, and I barely make any amateur mistakes anymore. I also figured out to play most of my favorite songs as well. Unfortunately, some of them just could not be played with a guitar alone, or did not sound good with an acoustic guitar. But I still had them in memory, and I actually started learning how to read music notes so that I could record them properly. There were still some songs that I was still trying to get down, but that was okay, I would get them down eventually.

I'm finally done tuning the guitar, and I look up to the little audience that was waiting on me. I feel my face heat up once again. "The song I'm going to sing is dedicated to my sister and Kagura's brother." I say nervously, before I close my eyes.

I take a deep breathe to calm my nerves and start strumming the guitar. The opening riff of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" fills the air.

This song was one of my favorites, and I was quite proud when I figured out how play it.

 _….How I wish, how I wish you were here.  
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,  
Running over the same old ground.  
What have we found?  
The same old fears.  
Wish you were here._

When I finish the song, I open my eyes and everyone starts clapping.

"Well, Kid, that was actually pretty good. You should sing more often." Celia complements with a smirk.

"That was very pretty, Rubi-nee!" Araña shouts, and I feel my face heat up once again,

Kagura suddenly rushes up to me and gives a giant bear hug, which forces the air out of me. I feel some wetness on my shoulder and I notice that Kagura was crying a little. "T-Thank you, Rubi… That was really good." She says, clearly touched by the lyrics.

I manage to put the guitar down and return the hug, my face still extremely warm. "Are you alright, Kagura? I didn't mean to make you cry."

She lets go and backs away a little. She has a smile on her face and her eyes were a little wet. "Don't be, I just really liked your song." She assured me.

I feel myself grin, "I'm glad you liked it."

"Ok, Kid, since you are of age now, you can now join the guild legally now." Celia interrupts.

I look over to see her holding a stamp that had the guild's logo on the bottom of it.

"Where do you want your mark and what color do you want it to be?" She asks.

I shake my head, "Um, can I wait a little before I join the guild, Master?"

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Sure, I guess… Can I ask why, though?" She inquires.

I feel a small smile make its way on my face. "I kind of pinkie promised Kagura that we would become mages together, and I would be breaking that promise if I became a mage before her."

Celia looks at me for a second, before letting out a laugh. "Sure, kid. I can respect that." She says with a large grin on her face.

I look to Kagura to see a shocked look on her face. I start snapping my fingers, to get her attention. "Uh, Kagura… Are you there?" I question her.

She snaps out of her daze, and immediately tackles me to the ground in a hug even bigger than the one a few minutes ago. As a result, I let out choking noises.

"I didn't think you would actually remember that promise. I barley remember it myself." She laughs out loud.

"Of course *cough* I remember *cough* that promise. I have a really *cough* good memory." I manage to get out.

She eases up the pressure of her hug. "You didn't have to do that. It would have been fine if you had joined."

She then lets go, and we both stand up. "I don't like to break my promises. No matter how small they are." I say with a grin on my face. I then let out a yawn, "Well, I think I'm going back to the dorms now. That performance really tired me out… Thanks for the party everyone! I really appreciate it!"

And I really did. This was perhaps the best birthday party I have ever had. My mother in my old life would have fainted at the sight of me getting a sword, though. But at least I was trained to use it properly and was actually going to use it.

As I was laying in my bed, I was thinking about the future in excitement. I couldn't wait for Kagura's birthday, and become a mage. I'll finally be able to explore the world around me and see things that I would only dream of in my old life.

Thinking about the future also filled me with dread as well. There was giant shitstorm coming, and I still had a lot of preparation to do. Even though anything worth worrying about is many years away, I still had to be vigilant and make sure I was strong enough to weather whatever was thrown at me. I also have to protect the ones I cared about as well.

I will never give up, ever!

* * *

Ok, Rubina is learning new magic finally, and she will learn a few learn a few more. She ran into Mystogan, but thankfully, it was only brief. Mystogan will be the last encounter with a fairy tail member for a while. She got one step closer to completing her project with her experiment with the lacrima crystal. And she is now officially ten and can become a wizard now! She also introduced more music from her previous life as well.

 **Manga Spoiler below**

For those who are caught up on the manga, you could probably guess what she was sensing. It was Layla Heartfilia opening the eclipse gate, and it would make sense for Rubina to sense such a large device.


	14. Dreams, Desires, and Friendship

**A day after the last chapter was posted, my grandmother passed away. I wasn't in the right mind to start writing their first job, which would of been ruined by the mood I am in right now, so I decided to vent those emotions into this chapter and provide some insights to some of characters. So this is a very character development focused chapter. The next chapter will be out sometime next week.**

* * *

 **Dreams, Desires, and Friendship**

 **Celia**

If you were to ask Celia what she thought about kids, she would say that they were irrational at times, and that they would cry whenever she tried to speak to them. Overall, she didn't care for them.

Of course, back in her younger years, when she first set out into world as a young, naive, but sarcastic teen, she would be lying if she said that she never thought about finding that special someone and having children of her own. To find that one person who completes your very being.

She wasn't a romantic like Lana, but that didn't mean she couldn't like the sappy stuff sometimes. When she was younger, when hormones were driving her crazy, she would watch those sappy romantic movies with Lana. While Lana would outwardly show her romantic hopes of meeting her soul mate like in the movies, Celia would outwardly scoff at those ideas. Nothing happens like it did in those movies.

Inwardly though, deep inside her heart, she would too have those very same romantic hopes as well. She would act on those hidden desires, and she would always turn up short of filling them. Every partner she got into a relationship with, always came to end one way or another. Whether it ended by her not liking the person, mutual agreement to break up, or even getting cheated on a few times. Her relationships never lasted. She just couldn't find the man that was right for her.

So she tried the other side of the spectrum as well, but she had no luck at that as well. So she eventually gave up at trying to find that special someone, and just focused on living her life as it was.

And live it she did. She managed to establish a guild that has steadily growed over the years. When Lana asked her why she made it female only, she responded that there were tons of guilds that were just for men, but very few guilds that were just for women. She also said that she found most men perverted and wanted a space where that wouldn't be an issue.

The guild grew, and most of the members were in their early twenties like Celia and Lana. Some members had young children, and some members where even children themselves. Whenever Celia would see them, those deep desires of wanting to find her soulmate and have children of her own returned. But she managed to squash those feelings, because the children that were already in guild or hanging around the guild already had parents, so they weren't hers.

She wouldn't admit it, but she would get a little jealous at some of the members when they would bring their significant other to festivals, or special events. She wouldn't outwardly show it, but under the facade of a cocky smirk and blunt attitude, she would internally wish that it was her with someone that she could express her inner emotions with. To have someone that she could trust with everything. Someone who she could show all her weaknesses to and be fine with them.

Those feelings were never stronger than when Lana found a man that she loved and got pregnant with a child. While she didn't show it outwardly, she was internally depressed. That depression soon turned into righteous anger when that bastard ran away one night, and abandoned Lana and her child. She didn't know where that jerk fled to, but when she found him, she was going drag him back and have Lana serve justice.

When Araña was born, she couldn't be any happier for her friend. She considered Araña like a niece, and treated her as such. Of course, with her children skills, she always ended up making her upset somehow.

When she thought her desires for having children of her own all but died, she found Kagura and Rubina.

Two girls who lost everything in a fiery blaze and a cloud of ashes. When she first took them in, she treated them like she treated other kids. With blunt words and very little nuance. She cared for their well being like every normal adult who finds injured children, but over a span of four years, those feelings became something… more.

She didn't where it started, but as time went on, she found herself getting more and more protective of them and genuinely caring about them. Whenever they accomplished something new, or did something amazing, she felt a sense of pride swell within in her. When they seemed to get hurt, she would get small feelings of worry within her, before being relieved when they popped back up like nothing happened. These feelings did nothing to soften her treatment of them. In fact, these feelings made her push them even more, to make them the best they could be.

Of course, she didn't outwardly show these emotions in public, but when she was alone in her office, or in her home, she would let her facade drop and genuinely smile to herself. She never felt this good or satisfied in years. She spent some nights wondering if this what having kids was like.

Now that Rubina was ten, and Kagura almost that age as well, she couldn't be more excited and nervous at the same time. She was excited that they will be starting their careers and getting out into the world, but also nervous for the same reasons. These contradictory feelings frustrated her to no end.

She may not have given birth to them, or raised them for the first few years of their lives, but that didn't make the feelings she was feeling any less strong. Despite her attempts to deny these feelings, she couldn't help but consider them like daughters.

And she was perfectly fine with that.

XXX

 **Lana**

Lana was like every other young girl her age. Well, she wouldn't say that she was quite like every other girl. She like the things most girls screamed at and ran from. Most notably, was her love of spiders. They always fascinated her, and she liked studying them.

Unfortunately, this fondness for spiders made the other children avoid her, and more often than not, tease and bully her relentlessly. That's how she meet her best friend Celia actually. She was being picked on one day, and she was eventually pushed to the ground. Then suddenly, the bullies were washed away by a small flood of water.

Her rescuer was a girl with shoulder length sea foam colored hair, and had a very large sarcastic smirk on her face. She extended her hand and said "Hey, don't let those jerks get ya down. I think spiders are pretty cool too…. The names Celia Marea."

She smiled for the first time in a long while and extended her own hand.

"I'm Alana Webb, but you can call me Lana for short." She said as she was pulled up.

That was the start of a lifelong friendship. As they got older, Lana became the more gentle and approachable one, while Celia became even more sarcastic and blunt, but never lost that sense of honor she exhibited on the day they met.

They were always there for each other. She was there whenever Celia failed at a relationship and tried to hide her true feelings, and Celia was there for when Araña's father suddenly left and she had to raise her daughter by herself.

So when Celia came back with two little girls who went through something that no person should ever go through back to the guild, Lana was there to help.

She handled giving them a proper education, and Celia handled their physical training. Right away, she noted that the girls where more mature for their age. They were both determined to get stronger, and determined to do it fast.

They were learning at rate that was twice as fast as she would expect a normal kid would learn at. They also progressed in physical training at impressive rate. Same could be said about their progress in the magic arts. They were both prodigies no matter what way you looked at it.

Lana was excited to see how high they could go in the future.

But there was one thing that baffled Lana, which was Rubina. She said that she was an orphan, but yet, she was incredibly book smart. Whenever she was teaching the two girls math, Rubina would always have a pained look on her face. At first, Lana thought she was struggling, but once she looked at all of her math work, she couldn't have been more wrong.

She never got an answer wrong, and there were some problems that she didn't even write out her work, but still got it right. It seems like she wasn't struggling with the math itself, but instead she was struggling with holding herself back. It baffled her as to why she would hold herself back, other than to make sure Kagura didn't feel left behind.

Lana just thought that she was just good at math, until she caught her sneaking out of the library with an arcane engineering book that had math in it that she couldn't even understand. Being good at algebra is one thing, but going straight to advanced calculus is another matter entirely. Lana didn't know if she truly understood what was in that book, but if she did, she truly was a genius.

There was also the way she acted. She could easily speak on an adult level since the day she woke up from her mini-coma. She could use adult words, and pronounce them correctly. Lana once saw Rubi blush from a dirty joke she overheard from one of the guild members, even though a young child should have no knowledge of those sort of matters. She acted like a child sometimes, but that was mostly when she around Kagura.

Rubina was an enigma.

But that was ok. That's what made her Rubina.

What Lana like most about the two girls, however, was the effect they had on Celia. Her friend was a very hard person to read. She always hid her true emotions behind sarcasm and a blunt attitude. But being friends with the woman for over twenty years has allowed her to be able read the emotions behind that smirking facade.

It was a pretty strong one too. In the many years Lana has known Celia, she has only seen the facade truly crack a handful of times. The first time was when they were teenagers and Celia found out that her boyfriend cheated on her. The second time was when Araña's father abandoned her and she swore to find him and bring him back. The last time she saw the facade break was when she talked about what she saw at Rosemary. How brutally slaughtered the civilians were, and how she only found two girls covered in the ashes of their home, with one bleeding heavily from a head injury.

Despite Celia's facade being so strong, Lana could sense what emotions her friend was feeling. As time went on, she sensed that her friend was happier with herself, and she had a strong suspicion that it was because of Kagura and Rubina. Despite her not outwardly showing it, Lana could tell that Celia has been affected by the two girls.

They also have affected the guild's ace, Maribelle as well. She seems to be happier as well. Even her own daughter has taken a liking to them, by considering them her sisters. Lana didn't know how just two girls could affect the people she cared about so much.

But she did know that she liked it.

XXX

 **Maribelle**

Maribelle Lockhart was born into a wealthy family in the Kingdom of Minstrel. She was the youngest child, and she had two older brothers. The youngest one was ten years older, and the oldest was twelve years older. Ever since she was young, she was given everything she ever wanted. She was drilled in proper etiquette, posture, and what her role would be in serving the House of Lockhart.

At the young age of six, she discovered that she had inherited the Lockhart's gift of magic. Unfortunately for her, in the Lockhart household and in most affluent families in Minstrel, women were expected to be obedient wives.

Her fate was to be married off at the age of sixteen.

When she showed her father her gift, she was swiftly, and harshly reprimanded. She was forbidden to practice her gift, and forced to take even more etiquette lessons. Her mother was no help either, as she was already resigned to her fate, and could only watch as her daughter would follow the same path.

It was that day, only six years old, that Maribelle realized she was in a gilded cage. That she had no future in Minstrel, and she was destined to follow the same pitiful existence as her mother, her mother's mother, and every woman before her. It was that day she realized that she was not the master of her fate. That she was not the captain of her soul.

And she hated it.

But fortune shined upon her in the form of her family's butler, who was a mage and master swordsmen, before retiring and serving under the Lockhart family. It was her butler, who was named Alexander that saw her father's treatment of her, and saw where her future was heading. He did not like the tremendous waste of talent and potential that he saw, and he sympathized with the young girl whose dreams were seemingly crushed.

So in defiance of his employer, he trained the young girl in secret. Maribelle proved to be even better than her older brothers, and even her father at magic, and she quickly excelled. It was thanks to Alexander, that she was able to take control of her life. It was thanks to Alexander, that she was able to obtain freedom in her life. It was thanks to Alexander, that everything would be the result of her choices, and she would lead her own existence towards the future.

And not her father

So determined to escape her cage, she pushed herself to get stronger, and was able to learn everything Alexander knew by the age of thirteen. It was also at the age of thirteen that her father finally gave her enough attention to finally notice what his butler was teaching his daughter. To say he was furious would be an understatement. Unfortunately for him though, he was too late stop Maribelle, and she ran away as soon as she was discovered.

Of course, her father sent men after her, but they couldn't catch her even if they tried. Not many people were able to keep up with Maribelle Lockhart.

So she ran a far as she could. She worked hard to be able to achieve her freedom, and nothing would stop her. She eventually ended up in Fiore, and joined Mermaid Heel at the age of fourteen.

She rose up the ranks of the guild and established a reputation around the country. And when her father eventually found her, he could do nothing, because Maribelle already surpassed him, and her brothers. They did not have the strength to take her back, and she was a legal resident of Fiore, thus she could not be dragged against her will back to southern Minstrel. Grudgingly, her father gave up and officially disowned her. She had never been happier in her entire life.

At the age of sixteen, she escaped her fate and won her freedom. No longer would she live in a gilded cage. No longer would she live in silent contempt, as her future was decided for her. She now owned her soul. She was the captain of her fate.

She thought after earning her freedom that her life would be done changing, but she was proven wrong when two girls were brought to the guild. At first, she didn't pay them any mind. That was until she heard from Celia about what happened to them, and saw herself in them.

They too had their dreams crushed at six years old, and they too were determined to get stronger and take control of their lives. So she started watching them, and would often ask Celia about their progress. She knew that they would someday ask her to make them stronger, and when a nervous red haired girl dragged a petrified purple-nette up to her, and asked for an apprenticeship. She accepted.

That decision proved to be the best one since deciding to escape the hellhole known as Minstrel. Over time, she saw them as something more than just her students. She started seeing them as little sisters. While she has denied it many times, Celia was partially correct about her filling inner desires of having a little sister. And she did in fact get a little too intoxicated one day and expressed those desires openly.

Freedom never felt better than it did now.

XXX

 **Kagura**

The first time Kagura saw Rubina, it was back in Rosemary. She didn't think much of her, as she was too busy teasing her brother about staring at Rubi's sister and getting really red as a result.

She would always see the two running around the village together, but never paid them much mind. It wasn't until after her home was burned into the ground, her parents slaughtered, and her brother potentially taken somewhere, that she started paying attention to the girl.

She was the only the thing the she had left. So she latched on to her, despite knowing nothing about her. As time went on, that changed, and she soon wished that she became friends with her sooner.

At first, the girl confused her. She knew a lot of things that Kagura did not understand. She could talk like an adult, but still act like her at the same time. But she was there for her when she needed someone the most, and for that she was forever grateful. Despite going through the same ordeal as her, Rubina almost never showed grief or cried in front her about what happened. She seemed invincible from the grief.

That was until Kagura was awoken by Rubina kicking and screaming from a night terror she was having. When she was awoken by her friend screaming bloody murder in her sleep, she had to wake her and almost got pushed off the bed. She spent the rest of the night embracing her friend as she cried herself back to sleep on her shoulder. That was when Kagura realized that Rubina was not invincible from the grief. She just tried to hide it, and bottled it up until it exploded.

Ever since that night, Rubina was more open about her feelings with her. The nightmares decreased in frequency until they stopped all together. It was after that night, that they truly became friends.

That friendship continued to grow, and as it did, Rubina kept revealing things about herself that always amazed Kagura. Just when Kagura thought she had her friend figured out, she reveals another part of herself, and Kagura has to start over once again.

When she found her reading from a book that was filled with words and math that she had no hope of understanding, Rubina could read like it was a picture book. She said that she was working on a project, and said that it was a secret. Kagura didn't know what she was working on that required a book that not even Lana could understand, but she knew it was going to amazing if she ever completed it. And she would be the first person to see it.

Her friend was open with her, but also did a lot of things when she wasn't around, and was all alone.

When she walked in on her singing a song to herself one Christmas eve, she revealed another thing about herself that forced Kagura to reevaluate her friend. She had a beautiful singing voice. It actually stopped Kagura in her tracks and left her in short stupor. She never expected her friend to able produce such a beautiful melody.

It was too bad she was way too shy to sing in front of others. Whenever she praised her voice and suggested that she perform in front of the guild, Rubina's face would match her hair color, and she would get really embarrassed. It took a lot of effort for her to be comfortable to just sing with just Kagura in the room with her. But one day, she would get her friend to perform in front of the guild.

She already got her going in the right direction with getting her to start learning how to play an instrument to complement her voice. And on her tenth birthday, she told Celia that a guitar would be an amazing gift for her friend. And she was proven correct when her friend was left speechless at the sight of the instrument.

Kagura capitalized on the moment and got everyone to convince her to play one of her songs. And it worked. The song she sang was one she hadn't heard her play before, and it struck something deep within in her heart. It moved her so much, that it brought some tears to her eyes.

And to top it off, her friend did something that left her speechless. She refused to join the guild until Kagura was ten as well. She said that she didn't want to break a pinkie promise that they made on the day she awoke from her mini-coma. A pinkie promise that she almost forgot herself.

She couldn't believe that she would do that for her. She would have been fine with Rubina joining the guild before her. But refusing to join until she was also able to join because a small pinkie promise they made years ago, was perhaps the most touching thing that she ever experienced.

That was the day they truly became sisters.

* * *

This was a very satisfying chapter to write. In fact, I wrote it all in one day.

It provided some insight into Celia's character, and revealed that she isn't only always just a very sarcastic person all the time. That she has some inner desires.

Maribelle's back story is inspired by the song "It's My Turn" written by Jeff Williams and sung by Casey Lee Williams. Some of the lines in her back story are inspired by the poem "Invictus". I really like the RWBY soundtrack.

We also got some development for Lana (who I have been neglecting). She actually noticed that Rubi isn't a normal child.

And lastly, we got a bigger insight of what Kagura feels about Rubi at the moment.


	15. First Job

**Ok, I'm back, and I'm now over 50k words.**

* * *

 **First Job**

 **March 8** **th** **, X778**

It was morning, and I was currently standing in my bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body. I was currently braiding my hair, and preparing for the day.

I was so excited for today, that it took a great effort for me not to be shaking where I was standing. Yesterday was Kagura's tenth birthday, and we became wizards together.

I finish braiding hair and I look at the red Mermaid Heel mark that was present on my upper right arm. I couldn't help but smile at it.

It was sort of like a tattoo, but without the needles and hours of sitting in a chair in mild discomfort. All it took was a quick stamp, and a split second tingling sensation wherever the mark was applied. I put it in a spot where it would be easily visible, but also easy to cover up as well. You never know when there will be a situation where you need to go undercover and hide your mark.

I think I put it in a great location overall, but I couldn't say the same about Kagura. She put a white guild mark on the back of her neck. I asked her why she put it in such a hidden location, and she just shrugged and said that she felt like it. I was a little annoyed at that answer, but I guess it was her choice.

Anyway, looking in the mirror was a smiling red haired girl with long, crimson red hair that was braided in the back. My face was starting loose its baby fat, and I was starting to look less like a chibi, and my face was starting to get more defining features. To be honest, with my hair braided back the way it was, and the way my bangs were styled. I looked like child Erza from the anime. The only differences were that my eyes were red, and my eyes and chin were little rounder than my sisters. Also, my hair was a slightly different shade of red. Not to be narcissistic or anything, but I could tell already that I was going to be quite the looker once puberty went into full swing. I guess I got the same great genetics that my sister got.

Speaking of puberty, I do not look forward to going through it again. The first signs of it were already showing. But this time around, it was noticeably different.

I distinctly remember my chest not getting lumpy in my last life. A little bit before my tenth birthday, I noticed that my chest was getting a little lumpy, and at first, I thought it was me putting on some weight. But as time went on, the lumps have gotten a tiny bit bigger and more firm.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I realized what those lumps were. They were the first stages of breast development. When I realized this, I hid in the bathroom for a few hours. This was the first big reminder of my new situation besides the obvious physical differences between my old body and my new one. And I had a little identity crises before willing myself to get over it and move on. I would just have to live with it.

But yeah, I was getting boobs, and I still don't know what to think of that fact. Luckily, they were small, and barley noticeable. But I had to start wearing something that I never thought I would ever wear.

A bra, or a training bra to be more specific. It was weird to wear it, and I didn't know why I had to wear one at such a young age, but since I will inevitably wear a full sized one in the future, I might as well get used to wearing it.

But that's enough thinking about puberty, I had somewhere to be, and things to do. I needed to get dressed, and I wanted to test something that I have been working on since I turned ten.

I drop the towel that was covering my body, and then I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I then let magic power course through my body. I hear a weird sound, and the feeling of the air on my bare body is replaced by the feeling of wearing something.

I open my eyes and instead of seeing myself naked, I see me wearing a white over-blouse that had short sleeves, went down to my waist and fit snugly to my form. Around my waist was a leather sword belt that held a wakizashi in a black sheathe. It was the same one I received on my birthday. I was also wearing a blue skirt that went to just above my knees and brown leather boots that went up most of my calf.

I feel a huge grin on my face, and let out a laugh. I just performed requip for the first time. I start feeling around to make sure everything was indeed on my body. After confirming my suspicions, my grin gets even bigger.

After my tenth birthday, I went into the library and found a book on requip magic. After seeing Maribelle and Celia use it all the time, I've been wanting to learn how to use it for quite a while. While one of my reasons for learning it was because of Erza, it wasn't my biggest reason. It was just so damn useful.

It allowed you to store various pieces of clothing, armor, and weapons. It was primarily a utility magic that was meant to assist in battle or everyday life. It took a good amount of willpower and concentration to use it, and often took a few seconds for it work. That's why it wasn't used primarily as a combat magic. Those who could use it fast enough in battle were few and far between. Those who could use it as their primary magic where even rarer. Erza was truly remarkable if she was able to do it so fast and so precisely.

It took me forever to just establish a small pocket dimension, figure out how to store stuff in it, and be able to even change one article of clothing. For Erza to change into complete armor sets within a split second was unbelievable.

I wasn't the only who tried how to learn requip. Kagura has been trying as well, but she had extreme difficulty establishing a pocket dimension. When she finally did, she found out that it couldn't store much, and was a little disappointed. But she got over it and said that she wasn't going to rely on her magic much, so not being able to use requip to a greater degree wasn't so devastating.

I'm interrupted from my musing by a slightly annoyed Kagura knocking on the door. "Rubi! Come on! We're gonna be late!" She shouts with an annoyed tone.

I sigh, "Alright! I'm coming!" I shout back. I then walk to the door, and open it. I'm greeted to the sight of Kagura standing and tapping her foot impatiently.

She was wearing a white collared shirt that had a red neck tie and was tucked into a white skirt that went half down her thigh. She was also wearing black leggings, white shoes and of course, her white ribbon in her hair. She had her hair in the "Hime" haircut. Overall, she was really starting to look like her adult self, but just way smaller and her face was less serious.

She was holding a full sized katana that was in a white sheathe. On her birthday, Maribelle got her two swords like she did me. But Kagura got a full sized katana and nodachi instead. This was because Kagura liked the longer swords and she found the sword style that she really likes. Which was the style of the undrawn long sword.

"Sorry, Kagura, I was just testing my requip skills…" I say sheepishly, before gesturing to the outfit I was wearing, "… and as you can see, it was a huge success."

She rolls her eyes, but she has a small smile on her face. "Well, congratulations, but we have to go pick out our first job, and Shishou said she would come with us. I don't want to keep her waiting." She says impatiently.

I sigh, but I nod my head in agreement.

She then turns around and gestures me to follow her, "Come on now. You already used up a lot of time in the bathroom." She says as she starts walking away.

I follow her and I end up right beside her. "You look pretty sharp, Kagura. Very professional looking." I complement.

She smiles, but continues to look forward. "Well thank you, Rubi. The same could be said about you. That looks good on you." She complemented right back.

I smile at her compliment, "Thank you! I had hard time picking something out." I respond. "What type of job do you think we'll get?" I then ask out loud.

Kagura's face turns contemplative, "Hmm… that's a good question. I don't think we will be doing D-class jobs, that would be a waste of our training, and there would be no reason for Shishou to come along with us." She reasoned out loud. She then looks at me, "I think we will be allowed to go on a low C-class at the least. Maybe even a B-class if we're lucky."

The job rating system in Fiore, and all of Ishgar, was regulated by the Magic Council. The class of job depended on a multitude of factors like amount of payment, difficulty, danger levels and amount of time the job had been on the market. D through A class jobs made up what was known as "normal jobs". Next there was S-class, SS-class, 10-year and finally 100-year jobs. Those jobs were for S-class mages and higher.

A D-class job would be a waste of our training, because they involved task like walking pets, fixing household stuff, or most simple problems. They were task that normal people could do, and didn't necessarily need a mage. C-class jobs and up was when things got difficult for non-mages.

"That would be kind of cool. Maybe we will get to beat up some bandits!" I say excitedly. "Can you imagine their faces when they realize that they got beat by two ten year olds!?"

This got a giggle from Kagura. "I don't know if we will be allowed to do something like that, but that would be funny."

At this point, we have arrived at the guild hall. We both walk inside and head for the job board, where Maribelle was already standing. She was looking at board, and the many jobs on it.

"Good morning, Shishou!" Kagura and I say simultaneously.

She looks over her shoulder and has a small smile on her face. "Good morning, Kagura. Rubina." She then turns her head back towards the board. "It has been quite a while since I last used this board. It brings back many good memories from my early years, when I was a little bit older than you two." She said in a nostalgic voice.

She then turned around and faced us fully. "Normally, amateur mages in the same age bracket as yourselves would be doing simple D-class jobs. But, I did not train you two to do simple chores that any non-mage could do." She then gestured to some of the job requests on the board with a smirk on her face. "No, that would be a complete waste of the skills you have acquired. So I think we will be doing a B-class instead." She then tore a job request from the board. "In fact, I found the perfect job for you two." She said, and then walked over to us and handed me the job request.

Kagura leans over as I start reading the job request.

"'Usagi infestation in Lilly Town. Need immediate help. 100,000 jewels.' *whistle* Wow, that's a lot of money!" I read in excitement and Kagura makes a noise of agreement. I then become slightly confused and I look at Maribelle. "One question. What is a Usagi?" I inquire.

Maribelle's face strangely morphs into one of slight amusement, before turning into one of seriousness. "Oh, they are truly terrifying creatures with sharp pointy teeth, incredible speed, and great strength. Not to mention that they have a vicious streak a mile wide." She says in a completely serious tone. Her face then turns back to normal, "But I am convinced you two can handle it." She says before she starts walking towards the door of the guild. She then looks over her shoulder, "Come, we have a long walk."

At this point, I was very worried about what we were going to face, and I could tell Kagura was as well. But I swallow my nerves and nod my head. "Yes, Shishou!" Kagura and I exclaim, and we both catch up to Maribelle.

"Shishou? Where exactly is Lilly Town?" Kagura inquires.

Maribelle continues to look forward as we reach the door of the guild. "Oh, not too far." She said with a small smile. She then opened the door and we followed her out.

XXX

It turns out, Lilly Town was two hours away by foot, and we arrived there at noon.

Lilly Town was decently sized and looked like it was a bit bigger than Rosemary in size. The houses were a bit more modern, though with way more two story buildings. The roads were also paved with stones.

Overall, it looked like a very decent town, except for the fact that all the buildings had boarded up windows, and there were no people walking in the streets. It was a ghost town.

"Uh, Shishou, where is everyone?" I inquire as we walk through the empty town.

Maribelle continues to look forward, "They are hiding from the Usagi of course. They are truly terrible creatures that will attack anyone. We are going to the mayor's office to see the scope of the problem." She explains.

"Are Usagi truly that terrible?" Kagura asks nervously.

Maribelle looks at her, "Absolutely terrifying." She responds simply, and Kagura starts to look even more nervous.

I was starting to have doubts as well.

We eventually reach a large building, which I assume is the mayor's office, and we stop outside of it.

"Hello! Is anyone there!?" Maribelle asks out loud.

There is moment of silence before the door suddenly opens, and a man who looks to be in his sixties with grey, disheveled hair and a fearful look on his face comes rushing out. He looked to be of average height and was wearing a white collared shirt that had its sleeves rolled up, and tan colored khakis.

"What are you doing out here!? They are going get you!" He said hysterically.

Maribelle then holds up the job request flier, "We are mages from Mermaid Heel, and we are here to take care of the usagi problem." She said calmly.

The man's eyes widen before he rushes up to her and gets on his knees. "Oh my lord! Thank you! Someone has finally come!" His eyes then start tearing up. "Those monsters have been terrorizing our town for a week now, and they just won't go away! Nothing we did would work!" He said hysterically, before regaining composure. He then got up and smiled gleefully. "My name is Tim, mayor of Lilly Town." He introduced himself.

"My name Maribelle Lockhart, S-class mage of Mermaid Heel. And these two…" She then gestured to Kagura and I. "… are my apprentices, Kagura Mikazuchi and Rubina Crimson. They are here for their first job, and I am here just to supervise them."

The man looked between her and us several times. "Are you serious!? You're letting little children do this!? They'll be ripped apart!" He said incredulously.

Half of me was getting even more nervous at his declaration, and the other half was taking offense. I feel my eye start twitching in annoyance. I look over to Kagura and see her taking deep breaths to contain any insult she might want to say.

Maribelle looks unaffected at his declaration, "I would not worry about my apprentices. I assure you that they are quite capable, and will be able to take care of your usagi problem." She retorted with confidence. "Now, show us where they are, and we will take care of it."

The man looks at her for a moment before sighing. "Well, if you say so…" He trails of before gesturing us to follow him. "Come. The last I heard, they were this way." He then starts walking away and we follow him through the streets.

While we are walking I lean towards Kagura, "So, what do you think these usagi look like?" I stage whisper.

"I don't know. But according to all the information I gathered, they must be huge beast with sharp, large teeth." She whispers back with a nervous voice.

As we get closer to where the mayor is leading us, he starts to get twitchier, and his head starts looking around erratically. These things must truly be terrifying. All around us, the buildings were all boarded up, the streets were empty, stereotypical tumbleweed was blowing in the wind, and the silence was unnerving.

As we keep walking, the tension in the air increases, I start to get more edge.

The mayor stops, his head looking all over the place, and then turns around. "Ok, I don't think I should go any further. Those beast are hiding somewhere, and I don't want to be here for when they app-"

He is cut off by a loud, unholy screech that causes me to cover my ears in pain. Kagura joins me in covering her own ears as well. Maribelle is unfazed.

He becomes panicked. "Oh god! They're here!" He says hysterically, and he immediately runs behind me and uses me as cover. If I wasn't covering my ears in pain, I would be angry at him for using me as a human riot shield.

The loud screech stops and Kagura and I get into a combat stance and we draw our swords. I start letting magic power flow to my body and I start looking around for the creature that made the noise.

Strangely, Maribelle didn't get into any type of stance at all and she turned around and walked over to me. She then grabs the mayor from behind me, and pulls him up to his feet with one hand with ease. "Get a hold of yourself! Ten year olds have more courage than you!" She scolds the mayor, and all he could do is wilt under her chastising.

We hear another screech, but this time, not as loud.

"Look over there!" Kagura shouts as she points to an ally way.

We both stare at the ally way, waiting for the beast to show itself. What comes out is a small white rabbit. I ignore it and keep waiting for the creature to appear.

"There's one! Attack!" The mayor shouts, and we tense up looking for what he was referring to.

We still see nothing.

I look back at him, "Where is it!?"

He points in the direction of the rabbit. "There! It's right there! Take it down before it gets us!" He shouts.

I look back and see nothing. "Behind the rabbit?" I inquire.

"No! It is the rabbit!" He answers.

Wait, what?

"What?" I say out loud. He couldn't be serious with this. I think Kagura was in equal shock as well. Or her brain shut down at the sheer stupidity of the situation.

"That is one of the creatures that has been attacking our town! Take it down!" He commands loudly.

It was at this time that Kagura's brain rebooted itself. She turns around with the most annoyed look on her face that I have ever seen on her. "You put a job request to exterminate a rabbit!? Your whole town is boarded up for a rabbit!?" She yells incredulously, her right eye twitching from annoyance.

"That is no rabbit! It is a spawn of Satan himself!" The mayor exclaims. "That thing is the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever set your eyes on! It has razor sharp teeth, can jump buildings, has the strength of two men, and has a vicious streak a mile wide!" He continued.

At this point, I didn't know what to think, and my brain just shuts down from the stupidity of what my life was at this moment.

So I decided to watch a ten year old argue with a grown man.

"It's a freaking rabbit! A baby could take one down!" Kagura retorted. And the mayor just sighed and shook his head, which made Kagura even more annoyed.

I took this moment to look at Maribelle, who looking at the two with amusement, and looked like she was holding in a chuckle or two.

"I'll show you that it is just rabbit, and you were worried over nothing!" I hear Kagura shout and I turn around to see her draw her sword. She then starts walking towards the rabbit.

It was at this moment that my brain decided to come back online and this situation suddenly became familiar. "Wait a minute... I've seen this before..." I say quitley to myself, before my eye suddenly widen. "OH GOD, KAGURA, WAIT DON'T GO NEAR IT!" I shout suddenly, but I was too late.

The rabbit suddenly screeches and its appearance suddenly changes. No longer is there a cute little bunny rabbit, but instead, a rabbit that looks like it came out of hell. Its fur stands on end, its eyes glow red, and its teeth elongate. The demon rabbit hisses, and immediately jumps toward Kagura with lightning speed.

Kagura, who was caught off guard, was not prepared for the demon, and the demon's head connects with her stomach, sending her flying. But before she can land, the rabbit is already under her again, and hits her again, sending her flying back towards us.

The rabbit positions itself under her again, but before it could hit Kagura again, I pump magic into my body, and rush next to the rabbit and punt it down the street with a magic enhanced kick. I then catch Kagura, who is seeing stars, and she is mumbling incoherently.

"*groan* W-What happened?" She manages to get out. She then shakes her head and quickly gets back on her feet.

The mayor starts laughing hysterically. "I warned you, but did you listen? No, you didn't! Just a rabbit you said. A harmless little rabbit." He manages to get out through his laughing fit.

Kagura's face turns a bright red, "S-Shut up!" She stutters out.

Suddenly, we hear the rabbit screech in distress, and we turn our attention to find it in the middle of street. The ground then starts rumbling, and we see a swarm of them on the horizon, rapidly coming towards us with great speed.

"We don't have time bicker, we have a large problem head towards us!" I shout, and Kagura quickly nods and gets to her feet. I get into a combat stance and start sparking electricity throughout my body. Kagura draws her sword, blade still in sheathe, and gets into slashing form.

The mayor wisely gets as far away as possible, and Maribelle just calmly watches us.

I go first and charge straight into the swarm of demon rabbits with incredible speed. As I am about to collide with the swarm, I discharge a large amount of lightning from my body. " **Thunder Blast!** " I shout as enormous arcs lightning blast out of me, knocking back a large amount of the rodents away from me.

This creates enough space for Kagura to jump in and she starts slashing the creatures with her sheathed sword. One jumps at her from her blind spot, but I quickly dispatch it a lightning bolt. I then bend back as one lunges at my head. I then shoot another bolt as it goes flying over me.

I rise back up and see Kagura dodging and hitting more the devil rodents out of the air. I then deliver a round house kick and intercept one mid-air, sending it back into the swarm.

For several minutes, we are in surrounded by the creatures, dodging and hitting them as fast as they are swarming us. Somehow we were not getting hit by them, but I'm starting to feel the fatigue of continuous combat, and I could see that Kagura was as well.

"We can't keep this going!" I shout as I dodge another usagi.

Kagura is in shield form, swatting them of like flies, "I know!" She shouts back, strain coloring her voice.

This was bad. If we didn't put an end to this, we would be overwhelmed. I think I might have a solution, but it would need some time to prepare.

"Kagura! I need you to increase the gravity in this area to prevent them from moving!" I shout as I dodge several more of them.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I'm suddenly pushed down to a crouch and I feel heavier. I let out a grunt of surprise and I turn around to see Kagura with her eyes closed. I force myself to stand up and look around to see the entire swarm of usagi, which took up a huge area, struggling to move against the intense gravity forced upon them. They were all screeching angrily, their eyes conveying pure hatred.

"Hurry up! I can't hold this for much longer!" Kagura yells, her voice conveying the immense strain of trying maintain her magic.

I nod and I start gathering an immense amount of lighting in both of my hands. "When I say so, you stop the gravity and get out of the way!" I exclaim as the lighting in my hands starts taking a spherical shape and keeps getting bigger.

At this point, Kagura was starting to sweat heavily and was starting to pant. "You better make your move soon! I don't think I can hold this for much longer!" She struggles to get out.

I don't respond as I was concentrating on gathering a little bit more power into the huge spheres of lightning that were in my hands. I then open my eyes, "Now!"

The gravity immediately drops, and Kagura lightens the gravity on herself to jump high above the area.

" **Chain Lightning!** " I yell as I let all of the lightning in my hand loose. The crimson spheres electricity explode into hundreds of arcs, which connect with each of the usagi. Each arc of electricity jumps from rabbit to rabbit, electrocuting them.

The swarm screams in pain.

My attack was over in a few seconds, and the swarm drops dead, each one thoroughly cooked. The air smelled of cooked rabbit. It smelled quite delicious actually.

Oops… I think I put too much power into that last attack.

I then feel light headed, my knees start to buckle, and I collapse to the ground. I roll over and look to the sky.

Double oops. I used too much magic, and now I was suffering from a case of magic depletion.

Kagura enters my vision, her face is full of worry. "Rubi! Are you alright!" She asked.

I feel myself grin, "Y-Yeah, I'm alright… I think I used too much magic, though…" I say half-deliriously.

She sighs in relief and shakes her head, "One day, you're going to give me a heart attack with all the injuries you get." She says as she extends her hand.

I slowly raise my hand and grab hers. She then pulls me up and positions me so that I was resting on her shoulder. I was a little bit taller than her, so it was a little bit awkward.

We start walking back to Maribelle, who had the proudest look on her face. The mayor was next to her, slack jawed. "Very good! I knew you two could handle it." She says with a proud voice. "Although, Rubina, try not get magic depletion often. It can be quite deadly if you are not careful." She scolds lightly.

At this point, I didn't feel like responding, because I felt like taking a nap. Magic depletion, or also known as magic exhaustion, is very tiring, but also very dangerous if severe enough. The magic container in the human body contains a set amount of excess magic that can be used for spells. After you deplete that supply, all there is left is the portion used to keep you alive.

Normally, when you try to perform a spell with no useable magic, the body doesn't allow you to use that life essential magic supply. But when a person is under extreme stress, overpowering a spell, or forces their body hard enough, the body will use a portion of that essential magic to perform the spell. The only cost is that you will be killed if you use all of your magic.

I was lucky that I used only a small portion of that supply, and was experiencing very light exhaustion. If used more, I could of lost conscious or even died. Again.

Yeah… I should be more careful the next time…

The mayor finally recovers from his shock. "We're free…" He says lowly, before a huge grin over takes his face. "We're free! The beast are slain!" She shouts to the heavens.

Suddenly, the doors of the buildings around us start opening, and people come outside to see what the commotion was.

"Hey everyone! The beast are dead! We're free!" The mayor shouts in excitement, and the people respond in kind.

The town ended up throwing a huge celebration, and we were thrown a feast. On the menu, was rabbit stew.

Apparently, my magic cooked them just right. Maybe I should open a restaurant.

I never thought my first job as a mage would result in me fighting a horde of demon rabbits that came straight out of a Monty Python movie.

When we arrived back at the guild, Kagura and I split the 100,000 jewels 50/50. Unfortunately, Celia took 25,000 away from both of us to pay a part of the 4 years' worth of unpaid rent that we accumulated. Another 2,000 was taken for taxes.

So that left only 23,000 jewels.

I was crying anime tears over the damage to my wallet.

* * *

OK, the first job is complete. She doesn't have the team 7 curse, which is every mission going wrong somehow, and I wanted to make the job a little light-hearted. Also, for those who don't know where I got the rabbit idea from, go check out Monty Python Holy Grail. It is absolutely hilarious. I felt as though I could of written the combat scene a little bit better. Usagi is Japanese for rabbit.

Rubina is finally starting to see the full scope of the changes to her body. But puberty is not done, and there is much worse things to come. She thought she has come to terms with changing sexes, but she hasn't experienced the full deal yet.

I posted a link to the image that Rubina's current outfit is based off on my profile page. This will be her outfit until she gets a bit older.

Now I got to think of what to write next. I'm open to ideas.


	16. Everyday Occurrences

**I'd like to thank everyone who left ideas last chapter. I'll see if I can implement any of those ideas in future chapters. The next chapter might be delayed, because I'll be a little busy over the next few days, and I won't have much time to think about what to write next. A word of warning, this chapter has a lot of swearing. You can probably guess who will do most of it. The name of this chapter is ironic. You'll see why.**

* * *

 **Everyday Occurrences**

 **April X778**

It was a beautiful spring day in the port city of Hargeon. The sky was blue, the birds were chirping, and the temperature was just right.

I just love Fiore's weather. It was just always ideal, and days with inclement weather was not that common. The weather was also more stable as well. In my previous life, I lived in Michigan, which had weather that was sometimes bipolar. An example would be it being fifty degrees on a winter day, then all of the sudden be below freezing the next few days, then going back to being fifty. That always drove me nuts, especially if that type of weather made it so that there was no snow in the winter. Winter and Christmas without snow just feels wrong.

Ever since our first job, Kagura and I have been doing more and more jobs. They were C-class jobs, because we couldn't get Maribelle to come with us, as she was busy doing a doing S-class job. C-class jobs were jobs that non-mages could do, but it would be much easier if they hired a mage instead. These jobs involved stopping low tier bandits, slaying small monsters, escorting people through the country side, etc.…

We didn't need a chaperone for these, because we did so well on our first job, Celia deemed us skilled enough to do C-class jobs without supervision. By this point, I didn't even blink at the idea of letting two ten year olds wander the country unsupervised. You could say I was getting used to the weirdness of this world. Although, the demon bunnies still broke my mind a little.

While we could technically do them individually, Kagura and I decided that we would do them together until we got a little bit older. We were using the buddy system so that if something went wrong, we would have each other's back. It was also a relief to me, as I don't like traveling to unfamiliar places alone.

Anyway, we were heading out on a job to stop some highwaymen that were robbing people. They were mainly attacking civilians that couldn't defend themselves, or anyone who appeared weak and vulnerable. And we were the perfect candidates for this job, as there is nothing more seemingly vulnerable than two little girls traveling alone.

To give the illusion that were just normal children, and not trained mages, I had both of our swords in my requip pocket dimension. Once the highwaymen showed themselves, I would take both swords out, and we would absolutely wreck them.

We got up extra early today and we walked to Hargeon. We didn't need to wake up early, as the job didn't have a time constraint, but I wanted to buy some materials for my project, and I wanted to get them while we were in Hargeon.

Over these past weeks, I have saved up about 110,000 jewels, and I was ready to start buying material for prototypes. I obviously couldn't buy everything, as lower end super-high-density lacrimas started at least 500,000 jewels, but I could buy the cheaper materials, and use the lacrima I already have to experiment with.

I came out of the metal shop with three metal tubes that were three feet long, and were about an inch and a half in diameter. Each one was made out of a different metal, which were steel, aluminum, and titanium. I spent about 90,000 jewels on all three of them, and Kagura did not look impressed with my purchasing decisions.

"Why did you spend so much money on those? They're just pieces of metal?" She said in a skeptical tone.

"Just pieces of metal?" I echo with in a tone of fake offense. "There not just pieces of metal, these are ethernano saturated, high quality, metal tubing. They are what I need right now." I retort.

She rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever… Why did you buy three of them?" She asked.

"Well, I need to experiment to see what material is best, and I choose the best metals for the job. I bought excess material just in case I mess up, and need to start over." I retorted. I then stored them in my requip space. We then started walking through the busy streets of Hargeon.

I loved requip. It was one the most convenient things in the world. Being able to store stuff in a magical sub-space pocket was awesome. I didn't have to worry about carrying things, or stuff getting lost or stolen, as it would be in a space that solely belonged to me.

Kagura looks at me while we were walking, "I guess I understand your reasoning, but how are you going to work on that stuff? We don't have any tools to work on that stuff. How will you cut those things?"

"Well, for simple tools, I already bought some in Salice. As for cutting…" I said as I raise my hand with two finger pointed outward. I then pump magic power to my fingers. A small blade of lightning, about an inch long, came out of my fingertips. "…Magic" I finish off my statement.

Kagura just sighs, but has a small smile on her face. "Well, as long as it furthers your top secret project, I guess I can't criticize your purchases." She relents.

I feel a grin on my face, "Just you wait. I haven't even bought the more expensive materials that I need yet." I say in an enthusiastic voice, which earned another sigh from Kagura.

"Whatever you say, Rubi. Just don't blow all your money so soon." She says exasperatedly.

We continue walking through the streets in silence for a few moments, before I turn my look at her once again. "So, are you ready to pound some bandits?" I ask in excitement.

She gives me a small smile, "Of course. I enjoy the look that grown adults give when they realize that they got beaten up by little girls." She said, and let out a small laugh.

I found it funny as well. There is nothing better than to see scumbags, who think they can steal from innocent people, be utterly humiliated and beaten up by us. The first time I saw a lowly bandit's color drain from his face when he realized we were mages, it was one of the best moments of my life.

The strength difference between mages and non-mages was truly incredible. I may have the body of a ten year old, but I could easy match, and surpass the strength of an adult. The physical strength I have acquired will only increase as I get older. I can see why those with power in the past were magic users. No normal person could compete with them. As you would expect, that did create some inequality issues, and there were riots, but that was hundreds of years ago.

I let out a small chuckle at my friend's statement. "Yeah, it is pretty satisfying. Especially when they beg for us not to turn them in." I say in a cheerful tone. Kagura let out a laugh in response.

At this point, we were in the middle of Hargeon, and almost to the beginning of the road that was plagued by the thieves.

I then feel a weird sensation suddenly in the back of my head. It is noticeable enough for me to stop and start looking around. I feel a small presence behind me, moving away from me.

I turn around to see three child sized figures of different heights walking next to each other. The child on the far left appeared to be a girl around the same age as me, with short white hair, and was wearing a pink shirt that was too big for her, and a yellow backpack.

Next was the one the far right. It was a boy, who looked a little bit older than me, with the same short white hair as the girl, wearing a vest over a white dress shirt and was carrying a large brown backpack.

But the one that caught my interest the most, was the one in the middle. The middle person was taller than the other two, and was wearing a purple cloak with what appeared to be ears on them. The middle person also had the largest backpack as well. But their appearance wasn't what was bothering me.

It was the strange presence the person gave off. I felt almost drawn to them like a moth would be to a flame. Like they were calling to me. All I could do is stare at the retreating figures as they started to disappear into the crowd.

"Rubi? Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?" Comes Kagura's concerned voice.

I snapped out of my stupor, and I shake my head. I then look to Kagura, whose face was riddled with worry. "Yeah… I'm fine…" I say slowly, before clearing my throat. "I thought I saw someone, but I was mistaken." I finish.

She didn't look convinced.

I put on a small smile, "Hey, I'm fine. Don't worry." I reassure her.

She eyes me for a moment longer, before sighing. She then starts walking again, "Come on then." She said while gesturing me to follow. "We got bandits take down." She exclaimed with a smile.

I nod my head, "Right, let's got." I say simply and we continue walking.

We stayed silent while walking through the busy streets. But I was fine with that, as all I could think about was the figure in the purple cloak. About the presence they gave off, and why was I the only one who felt it. The last time I felt something similar to that feeling, was last year, when Kagura and I felt the large magic presence. But this time, it felt… different. It didn't feel like sensing a large magic presence.

Now that I think about it, the two children besides the mystery figure seemed strangely familiar. I feel like I've seen them before, but I couldn't exactly recall where I had seen them. Déjà vu aside, I feel like I'll see that cloaked figure again one day.

XXX

It's been an hour since the strange occurrence in Hargeon, and we have been walking on the road that the bandits were reportedly said to be terrorizing for about thirty minutes. The road itself was a dirt road, and was surrounded by woods.

"So… Uh… Do you know when they will appear?" I say quietly to Kagura, who is looking around casually.

She subtlety shakes her head, "Nothing yet, Rubi." She responds. "You have to be patient." She then scold lightly.

I roll my eyes, "Sorry if I was getting a little bored. I'm only human." I say in a mock pout. It was Kagura's turn to roll her eyes, but she had a smile on her face nonetheless.

We continue walking in silence, discretely checking our surroundings for any sign of bandits. This goes on for another ten minutes, before suddenly, a man on a horse appears in front of us.

"Freeze!" He commands threateningly. He was wearing a green tunic, a red bandana on his head, and had a beard on his face. He had a cheap looking sword in his hand, and he was pointing it at us.

The horse was…. Wait what…

He wasn't riding a horse, but a man in a horse costume. I could clearly see the face that was wearing goggles, and was painted to match the costume color. That, and there were arms protruding from it, and were holding on to the reins.

Seriously though… What the hell am I looking at?

"Yeah! Freeze!" Comes two other voices.

The man on the fake horse is suddenly joined by two other men on equally fake horses. They were wearing similar outfits, but in different colors, and they also had cheap swords pointed at us.

Why do we keep attracting all the weird shit? First the demon the bunnies, and now this! What's next!? A gang of men wearing spandex suits that attack with farts!?

XXX

Somewhere in Fiore, three men with large butts wearing spandex suits suddenly sneezed.

XXX

I hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence.

"Give us your valuables, little girls!" The first man said.

"Yeah, give us your valuables." The other two echo.

I start to feel my right twitch from the absurdness of the situation, but luckily, I don't have to respond to them. That honor went to Kagura.

"Are those… horses?" She asked in a bewildered tone, completely ignoring their threats.

Her complete disregard of their demands caught the bandits off guard, and caused them to face fault. They quickly recover, and put on angry looking faces. "Of course they are horses! Can't you see!?" The leader exclaims indignantly.

It was my turn to chip in. "I don't know… I'm pretty sure horses don't have faces in the middle of their necks, and arms coming out of their sides…." I say skeptically. At this point, I was just rolling with it.

The bandits started making choking noises, they then huddled together, and started stage whispering to each other. Unfortunately for them, they were whispering loud enough for us to hear them. "Crap! They're on to us!" We hear one say. "What do we do!?" We hear another.

I look to Kagura, and she looks right back at me with confusion on her face. She then shrugs and we look back at them.

The break out of their huddle, and they got off their "horses". The leader then pointed his sword at us, "It doesn't matter what you think, brats, we're gonna take your money anyway!" He says angrily. The others drew their swords, and copied what their leader was doing. "Yeah!" they both cheered in unison.

I look to Kagura, and she nods at me.

I hold out my hands and I materialize our swords from my pocket dimension. I quickly toss Kagura her sword and she gets into the strong form, while I quickly draw my sword out of its sheathe and get into my own combat stance.

I then sprint with magic enhanced speed towards leader, who was in shock that he got tricked into fighting wizards, and slash at his sword. Instead of knocking the sword out of his hand like I planned to, my blade sliced cleanly through it, confirming my suspicions of it being a cheap, poorly made blade. I then jump and kick him across the face, which made an audible crunch, and he is sent flying into a tree.

Oops, I think I might have broke his nose. Ouch. I'll make sure to use less power next time.

Kagura then appears suddenly next to the other bandits, who were just now reacting to their leader getting kicked by a little girl, and hits one in the stomach with the tip of her sheathed sword. The bandit keels over because of the air getting knocked out of him, and Kagura hits him on the back of the head.

"Ouch, jeeze, the back of my head!" He says before he goes unconscious.

The other bandit saw his chance to hit Kagura, and swung at her, only for her to dodge his pitiful attempt. I immediately sprint towards him, and jump into the air while doing a flip. I extend my leg out and use the momentum from my flip to deliver a flying axe kick to the back of the dude's skull. The man hits the ground with enough force to crack the ground a little.

In the span of less than ten seconds, the bandits were defeated. The costumed horse people immediately took off in the other direction at incredible speeds as a result.

Kagura takes a step to chase after them, but I stop her with my arm. "Don't worry. I got this." I say with confidence, and she nods her head.

I then start sparking electricity to my hand, and I start forming a rod of crimson lighting in my hand. The rod quickly morphs into a spear shape. I then raise the spear over my head, and get ready to throw it.

"I really wanted to try this spell!" I say excitedly and I throw the spear. " **Gungnir!** " I shout as the spear flies through the air at blistering speeds. The spear lands in front of the costumed men, and explodes in a shower sparks, electrocuting the men, and singeing off their costumes

I feel myself grin at the success of my spell. Gungnir was an original spell that I came up with. Like the object it was named after, it was a spear of power. Ever since I found out I could make simple shapes with my magic, I have been experimenting with what I could make with it, and I eventually came up with a few spells. Gungnir was one of them. Of course, I didn't use it at full power against those men, as it would probably kill them, or nearly kill them.

I look around to see that every bandit that we fought was still unconscious. I then materialize a lot of rope and toss some to Kagura. "I think that went pretty well." I say in a joking manner, which got a snort of laughter from Kagura.

We spent the next twenty minutes tying up the bandits, and I left Kagura to watch them while I went to get the authorities. I was pretty confidant Kagura could handle them, as she put them in a gravity field to keep them from moving. I arrived an hour later, and we were payed the 80,000 jewels promised for completing the job.

XXX

 **July, X778**

"Rubi-nee, Kagura-nee!" Comes Araña's excited voice.

Kagura and I were sitting at a table, relaxing in the guild. We just got back from a job the day before, and we decided on taking a week off before we head out again.

I turn my head to see Araña running towards us with the biggest grin on her face. She was wearing a yellow dress with spider web designs on it, and her hair was in large dreadlock-like curls that jutted outward. Behind her was Lana, who had a proud smile on her face.

"Yes, Araña-chan?" I ask curiously.

She stops at the table we were sitting at, and extends her arm. "Look what I can do!" She says excitedly, and silky white thread shoots out of her hand. "I can do magic like Momma!" She exclaims proudly.

"It looks like she didn't just inherit my looks, but my magic as well." Lana says with a hint of pride.

"Congratulations, Araña-chan." Kagura says with a grin.

"Yeah, I knew you could do magic. Congrats!" I say.

Araña's grin gets even bigger, "Does this mean I can be a mage like you two?!" She asks, her body was practically vibrating from pure excitement and joy.

"Well, of course you can. But I think you have to wait a little before you can officially join." I respond, and I then look to Lana. "Isn't that right Lana-san?"

Lana nods her head in confirmation. "She is correct, Sweetie, we got to train your magic first before you can join. You'll also have to wait until your tenth birthday as well." She said gently.

Araña deflates a little, "Aww, that's not fair!" She pouted, which earned a few laughs from us.

Before anyone could continue talking, the guild door is suddenly slammed opened. I, and everyone else, immediately look to see the doors slightly off their hinges. Standing in the doorway was Celia.

And she looked absolutely pissed. More pissed than I have ever seen her. She was breathing heavy, had an angry tick mark on her head, and there was faint hint of steam coming off her body. She looked almost demonic with the rage she was displaying at the moment.

Lana, being the wise woman she was, acted on reflex and immediately covered Araña's ears, and turned her away from the angry woman.

"Those fucking ass-hats!" She yelled as she started walking through the guild hall. Guild members were giving her a wide berth as she walked through. "How dare those pricks!" She says as she destroys a table with a tendril of water.

Wow, someone must have really pissed her off. I have never seen her get to the point of destroying furniture. She was kind of scary actually, and going by some of the cowering guild members, I wasn't the only one who thought that.

Celia made her way toward the bar, destroying any chair or table in her path. The guild member who was at the bar was shaking in fear as Ceila finally got to bar. "Give me a drink!" She demanded loudly.

"W-What w-w-would y-you l-like" The bartender stutters out in fear.

"Anything!" Celia roars, which makes the bartender shrink in fear.

"R-Right a-away!" She stutters back, and pulls out a full bottle of alcohol and a shot glass. I was pretty sure it was vodka, but I couldn't tell from this distance. The bottle is immediately ripped from the bartender's hand, and the woman lets out a terrified "Meep!"

Celia rips off the cap, and drinks straight from the bottle, not stopping until the bottle is half-way empty. "Fucking assholes!" She mumbles loudly, before taking another small sip from the bottle.

"Come on, Sweetie, I think we should head home." Lana says, and starts pulling Araña by the arm.

"Bye Rubi-nee, Kagura-nee!" She waves with her free hand as she is pulled out of the guild.

I look to Kagura, and she looks back with a face colored with concern. I then look to Celia, who was silently seething by herself on a barstool. Bravely, I decide to walk towards her, and investigate what had her so mad.

I could feel the stares on me as I got closer, "Master? Is everything alright?" I ask cautiously while slowly taking a seat next to her.

She looks to me, and I can see her cheeks starting to flush from the alcohol. When she sees me, she calms down a little, but still looks very mad. There is a moment of silence, before she takes a deep breath. "Yeah *hic* I'm fine…." She finally manages to get out.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly just come through here all angry?" I ask.

The anger then re-ignites, "Well, if you want to *hic* know! I went to the guild masters meeting, and those *hic*…" She says angrily, before taking another sip from the bottle. "A-Assholes decided that they were going to be *hic* children and nearly destroy an entire town!" She ranted angrily.

"Who?" I ask slowly.

"The old pervert, Makarov! And that *hic* s-stupid phantom jerk, Jose, that's who!" She slurred angrily. By this point, the bartender had ran for safety. "Those, *hic* stupid jerks finally did it. They were having their usual *hic* pissing contest, but they finally got drunk enough to actually *hic* start fighting. So two drunk wizard saints fought, and *hic* they nearly destroyed Clover Town!" She ranted out. "Seriously! What the fuck is wrong with *hic* those two! They're supposed to set an example for everyone!" She then looked at her bottle of booze, and chugged down the rest of it. "At least that smug phantom prick got his ass beaten at least…" She mumbles lowly. "I'm fucking done with those stupid *hic* meetings! All they do is give me *hic* headaches!" She said finally.

Before I could say anything, Lana reappears. "Come on Celia. Let's get you home. You had enough." She says tiredly as she slowly lifts her up, and supports Celia on her shoulder. Lana then looks to me, "Sorry you had to see that Rubi-chan. She usually doesn't get this angry." She says, her eyes and tone of voice conveying regret. She then turned around, and started walking Celia through the guild, and eventually, out the door.

I follow them with my eyes as they leave. Kagura walks over to me, and takes a seat next to me. "What was her problem?" She asked with concern.

I sigh, "I'll explain it to later. I think we should help clean up the place." I say. The place was a mess, with chairs and tables cut cleanly in half from Celia's little tantrum.

Well, that was an eventful evening…

* * *

Ok, I wrote another job. For those who have seen the Key of the Starry Sky arc in the anime, you could probably recognize the bandits as the same people who ruined Erza's picnic. Besides some of the weird parts *cough* Jiggle Butt Gang *cough*, I didn't think it was that bad of an arc, and I actually enjoyed some parts a lot. Yeah, I found that part really funny with Erza's first picnic getting ruined. When I first saw it, I was like "WTF?".

Rubina makes more progress on her project. So far she has a crystal, and some metal tubes to experiment with. She also has a new spell, Gungnir, which is named after Odin's spear.

Rubina also senses a weird presence from a stranger, and you can probably guess who they were if you have seen the manga or anime. The real question is why she felt a presence in the first place.

And now, the elephant in the room. Celia was angry at Makarov and Jose Porla fighting each other, and she finally had it with going to the guild master meetings. In the anime, it says that Jose stopped going to the meetings 6 years before canon started in X784. Luckily, 784 - 6 = 778. So I had to mention that somehow. I apologize for Celia's behavior. I won't make it a habit of her swearing up a storm. I'm not good at writing drunk people, but I wanted to show that she was intoxicated, so I decided with her hiccuping.


	17. Memory Days

**I like to give a shout out to Keamor123, and redscarfninja for helping me with ideas for this chapter.**

 **ArticWolf- Rubina will have a battle outfit that will be armor in the future when she is older. But it will be light weight and won't be super elaborate like some of Erza's armors. As for the rest of your question, well, I don't mean to be rude, but I honestly can't understand what you are asking.**

* * *

 **Memory Days**

 **August X778**

I was awoken by a loud ringing noise, and I sluggishly look over to see the alarm clock that was next to my bed. It read seven o'clock, just like it always did, and I reached over and stopped the nefarious thing from ringing. My eyes were heavy, and I could not stop yawning. Overall, I was very tired.

Normally, I wouldn't be this tired, but I was up last night working on my project, so I didn't get much sleep. I stretch out my body, and relish in the wonderful sensation of my limbs being stretched. I let out a content sigh, and look over to Kagura's bed to see her sound asleep.

Surprisingly, she was a very heavy sleeper, and did not like to be disturbed. It usually took me some effort to get her awake, and I wasn't surprised that my alarm clock didn't wake her. She had her own alarm clock once, but it was quickly broken after Kagura got annoyed with it and crushed it with extreme gravity. In contrast, I could wake up at any time, and wasn't a heavy sleeper like Kagura.

This was weird for me, because in my previous life, I was almost like Kagura when it came to sleep. But this body seemed to like waking up early, I guess it couldn't be helped.

I start moving my head until I hear an audible "pop", and I let out a satisfied sigh. I then start cracking my fingers. That was another thing I carried over. It just felt good to pop my joints.

I slowly get out of my bed and start walking towards Kagura's to wake up the purple-nette. I start giving her a light shake, "Time to wake *yawn* up, Kagura." I say tiredly. The girl lets out pained groan, and barley moves. I let out a sigh, and I decide that I need to wake up more before attempting to wake up my friend.

I turn around, and head towards to bathroom. When the hot water hits my body, I let out a pleased sigh at the feeling. Unfortunately, the relaxing feeling of the water hitting my tired body, makes me even more tired, and I sit down in the shower so that I wouldn't fall over from falling asleep while standing up. I don't know how long I sat there in the shower, but I realize that I'm about to fall asleep, and I will myself to stand and finish bathing myself. When I'm finished, I go to the mirror and inspect myself. I was getting taller.

I realized that I was taller than Kagura, and I thought I was just hitting my grow spurt early, but recently, I have seen others my age, and they are all the same height as Kagura, or shorter. So either everyone is short, or I'm going to be tall.

I run my fingers through my hair, which had almost grown down my entire back, and wondered if I needed a haircut. I never really inspected my hair in my past life, mostly because I didn't give it much mind. But now, I was quite fond of it. Mostly because it looked so much better. In my previous life, I had fairly normal brown hair, but now I had long, silky smooth, crimson red hair that could only exist in an anime world.

After I'm done doing my hair, I use requip to put on my clothes, and I exit the bathroom. The bedroom is no longer dark, and the sun was shining through the window to light the room. I see that Kagura was still sleeping in her bed. I walk over to her bed, and I once again start trying to wake her.

"Ok, Kagura, you really need to get up." I say, and she responds with a groan. I sigh, and I push her on her back so I could see her face. Her cheeks were flushed red, and there was sweat running down her face.

Oh no, that doesn't look good.

I put my hand on her forehead, and my suspicions were confirmed. She had a fever.

She opens her eyes a little, "Hey, Rubi, I don't think I feel too well…" She says half deliriously, before she starts coughing a little. "*cough* Sorry, I don't think I can join you *cough* on a job today."

Well… This turned out to be a shitty morning.

XXX

After finding Kagura in her feverish state, I immediately sought out Celia and Lana. I would be lying if I said wasn't panicking a little. What if she had some unknown super disease?

"Well, it looks like you caught a rather nasty flu, Kagura-chan." Lana said as she finished inspecting the bedridden girl.

I grew concerned, "Is she going to be alright, Lana-san?" I ask with a worry laden voice.

Lana looks at me and puts on a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Rubi-chan, she'll be fine and ready to go again in a week or two."

Kagura lets out a miserable groan, "But Lana-san *cough* I don't want to wait *cough* two weeks. I want to go out on jobs…" She rasps out before she starts coughing some more.

I look to Lana and Celia, the latter was standing behind the former, "Is there anything we can do to lessen the sickness?" I asked with desperate concern. I didn't like the sight of Kagura in that state one bit.

Celia puts a hand on her chin and makes a few contemplative noises. "Hmm, well there is this place I know that sells this really good medicine, but it's located in…"

"I don't care where it's at, we need to get to it as soon as possible" I cut her off.

She looks at me with annoyed look after being cut off, but eventually sighs, "Fine, we'll leave right now I suppose." She says with a smirk.

"Thank you, Rubi, you *cough* don't have to do this for me. This *cough* means a lot…" She says with a strained voice.

"Hey, I'd do anything for ya. You are my best friend after all…" I say with confidence, and I have a small smile on my face.

Kagura grins, despite the terrible condition she was in. "T-Thank you, Rubi…" She says before going into a coughing fit.

"Well, as much as I would like to stay here and have feel good moments, we need to get going." Celia says impatiently.

I look back at Celia, who is tapping her foot impatiently, and I nod. "Right… Let's go." I say and I start to follow her out of the room, but before I leave, I look over my shoulder and see Kagura breathing heavy and coughing.

Don't worry, Kagura, I'll get that medicine for you.

XXX

Oh, God! Why didn't I take a nap first?

Walking through the busy streets of Hargeon while sleep deprived was absolutely terrible.

You're probably wondering why I didn't take a nap on the way. Well, Celia decided to drive like a woman possessed, and I could not get any time to charge my batteries.

So here I was, walking through one of the biggest port cities in Fiore, half delirious and sleep hungry. My movements were sluggish, and I was barley keeping up with Celia.

"Come on, Kid, we are going to miss the train at this rate!" Celia says while looking back. She then slows down and grabs me by the arm. "You should have gotten some sleep before asking to leave so soon, Kid." She scolds as she yanks on me, and pulls me through the crowd like a mother would a misbehaving child.

I would be protesting her pulling me around like a rag doll, but I was too focused on keeping myself from falling over. While she is pulling me through the streets, I kind of lose track of time, until we stop suddenly. We were at the ticket booth for the train station. I take this short moment to get some sleep, but it doesn't last long as I am pulled on once more by Celia. We eventually arrive at a bench, and we promptly sit down.

"Ok, Brat, our train arrives at ten o'clock, so we have an hour to kill. I suggest you get some shut eye before the train arrives." She says.

I don't have to think twice as I quickly close my eyes and fall asleep.

XXX

Celia was having a great day. One of her dau-Guild members caught a bad flu, and much to the insistence of the other one, she must go get the special medicine that will shorten said flu. Honestly, Kagura would have been fine if she just fought the sickness normally, but Rubi did not take well to the sight of her friend with a fever and coughing like no tomorrow. She would be lying if she said that sight didn't worry her as well.

Celia looked to the red headed girl sitting next to her. The girl was peacefully asleep, and even though she didn't want to admit it out loud, she thought she was pretty cute in this state. The girl then leaned against her arm, and used her as a makeshift pillow.

Celia let her façade drop, and a genuine smile made its way upon her face. She then brought her hand up to the girl's bangs, which were covering her face, and moved them out of the way. On the girl's now revealed face, was a smile. Celia's own smile became one of contentment, and she felt genuine happiness surge through her being.

So this is what it's like to have children.

After a while of sitting there peacefully, the train they were waiting for finally arrives. Rather than wake the sleeping girl, Celia gently picked her up and carried her into the train car. She set her down in a chair and she took a seat across from her.

Magnolia was only about an hour and a half away.

XXX

I woke up to the sun shining on my face, and I quickly cover my eyes to block it out. I eventually open my eyes and notice that I was not where I fell asleep. Across from me was Celia reading an issue of Sorcerer Magazine, I look to my side and look at a window to notice that we were moving. Huh, I guess we're on the train.

"I see that you're awake, Kid." I hear Celia say, and I look back to see her with the magazine closed on her lap. "You managed to get a good sleep in, about two and a half hours. Unfortunately, I wish you awoken sooner, so I didn't have to read this stupid magazine. I don't know why anyone would read this crap." She said with a smirk.

I start stretching, and let out a yawn. I felt much better now, and ready to take on the day. "How much longer until we get to…" I start, before I realize that I had no idea where we were going."…Um, where are we going again?" I inquire.

Celia let out a sigh, "Well, the only store that I know of that sells this special medicine is in Magnolia." She said.

The proverbial hamster wheel in my head suddenly stops, and I think I felt my heart stopped as well.

Yep, has stopped working. Would you like to send an error report?

"Hey, Kid, are you alright?" Comes Celia's concerned voice.

My brain reboots, "Ah!" I jump back in surprise. Which gets a surprised, and confused look from Celia.

"Hey, what's wrong!?" Celia exclaims with concern.

I force myself to calm down very quickly, "Uh… Um, sorry, I just remembered that I… Left the water running… Yeah, I left the water running at my room…" I say trying to cover up my miniature freak out.

Celia doesn't look very convinced, but eventually let's out an annoyed sigh. "*sigh* I'm sure that Lana turned it off for you, Kid, but if not, I'll deduct the wasted water out of your pay." She finally says.

I let out a small breath of relief. That was a close one. But I was still concerned about where we were going. This was way earlier than I had planned, and I did not want to be anywhere near there at the moment. The reality of me screwing everything up was now seeming more inevitable. I was now treading on thin ice, and I will have to be extremely cautious now. I think I might turn my red hair grey from all the stress today.

I swallow hardly, "So… Uh, isn't Magnolia where that pervert guy you hate lives?" I question nervously in an attempt to get the attention off my freak out.

Celia face immediately turns into one of annoyance, "Oh yeah… Him… I completely forgot about that." She said in a dark tone. Her shoulders then slumped, "Dammit, Brat, why did I agree come on this trip." She bemoaned. She then let out an annoyed sigh, "Well, we're already here, so I'll just have to suck it up… I'm still decking that pervert in the face if I see him though…" She finishes with fire in her eyes.

I sweat drop at her declaration of physical violence. "I don't think we should be going around punching old men, Master." I respond.

"Yeah, well, he deserves it. So your argument is invalid." She responds childishly.

We feel the train slowing down, and I look out the window to see the fabled town of Magnolia. I could see the sparkling blue canals, the tall buildings, and the enormous cathedral in the center. But most importantly, in the far back was the guild hall that every fan of the anime wants to visit, Fairy Tail.

It was very surreal.

"I always thought this city was quite beautiful, but Salice will always be my favorite." Comes Celia from behind. I make a sound of agreement.

My view is cut off as we enter the train station. I break out of my amazed stupor and the nervousness returns. I was really going to go to place I swore I wouldn't set foot in.

What if I run into my sister? What if…

 _You know exactly what I mean, Impostor! You are not my sister, get out!_

 _Goodbye, Imposter_ Echoes in my head.

What if she… She…

I shake my head to regain composure. Wow, I hadn't that flashback in a while.

"Hey, you coming, Kid? We don't have all day." I hear Celia say.

I turn around and face her, "Sorry, Master, I just had some things on my mind. Let's go." I respond, hiding the inner turmoil I was experiencing.

Celia nods, and she starts walking away and I, reluctantly, follow her.

Well, you only live once I suppose.

…

Actually, that statement is completely bullshit.

XXX

Seeing the buildings of Magnolia from a distance is one thing, but seeing them up close was something else. They were just bigger and seemed so much nicer than the ones in Salice. The street was also paved better as well. But by far the best part of the city, was the ginormous cathedral in the center.

"Wow…" I say while looking at the sheer height of it. I never been to a cathedral before, but I knew all the famous ones back in my old world were usually very big, and absolutely beautiful to look at. And this one was amazing.

"Pretty big isn't it? I wish Salice had one of these. Unfortunately, I don't follow Zentopia, so I wouldn't visit it much anyway." Celia says.

"Uh huh…" is all I could say.

"Well, you can look at this later. We need to get that medicine and get out of here as soon as possible. I really don't want to see that old perv if I can help it." She declares, and I break out of my daze of appreciation.

I start following her through the busy streets of the city, and we eventually arrive at a small shop. Celia opens the door and we both walk in, ringing a bell that was attached to the top of the door frame. The inside of the shop had shelves filled with bottles containing various multi-colored liquids, and in the back was a desk with a glass display case that had various herbs in it. Behind the desk was a doorway that had a purple curtain acting as a door.

"Coming!" A voice calls out from behind the curtain. And after a quick moment, a middle aged woman with fading brown hair, walks out of the purple curtain. She sees us and smiles, "What can I do for ya?" She asks.

"Well, I was wondering if you had some of that miraculous flu cure that is sold here." Celia asks.

The woman nods, "Ah yes that. I think I might have some, I'll be back in a moment" She says before going back into the backroom behind the curtain. After a few minutes, she comes out with nothing in hand. "Unfortunately, I have none prepared, but I do have the ingredients. It will take me a day to prep the potion, so if you want wait, I can have ready for you by tomorrow." She says.

Great, I'm going to be here longer.

Celia sighs, "I guess I can rent a room at an inn and stay the night." She relents.

The shopkeeper smiles, "Okay, I'll have it ready by the same time tomorrow."

XXX

We were standing in front of the Inn we will be standing at, and Celia was handing me a key that had a paper tag on it that had the number four printed on it.

"Okay, the Innkeeper said there's a poker tournament starting soon, and I'm feeling lucky. You can do whatever you want, as long as you are back by midnight. Is that clear, Brat?" Celia asks, and I nod in response. "Good, have fun!" She says as she walks into the Inn.

Well, as much as I want to take nap in the Inn, and avoid possible contact with some Fairy Tail members, I think I would go insane if I stayed in a room knowing there is a place people would dream of exploring outside. So maybe if I stay away from the guild, I'll be fine.

Hopefully.

It was already afternoon, about three o-cloak, and I realized that I haven't eaten anything. My growling stomach was my first clue, so since I was alone with no supervision, I did what any person in my position would do.

Find the nearest cake shop.

XXX

I sat back in the chair I was sitting in and let out a pleased sigh. That quite honestly some of the best strawberry cake I ever had. When I walked into the small cake shop, the shop owner mistook me for my sister, and immediately offered me their best cake, to which I accepted.

"Do you want to pay now, Erza-chan? Or do you want me to put it on your tab?" The lady who owned the shop asked.

I nod, "Can you put it on my tab please?" I ask.

Ok, I know I'm committing shameless identity theft, but come on, who wouldn't take the opportunity to get free cake. Besides, it's an older sibling's job to take care of their younger siblings, and buying their food is a major part of that. I'm sure Erza's wallet could take the miniscule hit.

The lady nodded, "Ok, Erza-chan, have a nice day then!" She said cheerfully.

I wave back and exit the shop. I then start walking through the town once more. I eventually arrive at park, and I see the strangest sight.

About twenty feet away from me where three figures. The first was a man with spikey black hair, and wearing a white shirt covered by a black coat, green pants, and leather boots. The next was a slightly taller man who also had spikey hair, but was blonde, and had a bandana going through it. He was wearing some type of varsity jacket with a black shirt underneath, and matching blue pants. These two wearing clearly wearing wigs if I wear to be honest.

But they weren't the sight that I considered strange. No, that honor belonged to the sight of an adult happy in a bear costume. That must mean the other two are…

What…. How…. I don't even….

My brain breaks for the second time today at the impossible sight before me. I'm quickly pulled out of my daze by the black haired one pointing at a silver haired kid reading a book on a bench.

"Wow, that little kid over there is Gramps!" He exclaims with Natsu's voice, which confirms my suspicions. "It has to be Gramps as a kid!" He finishes excitedly

"How far in the past do you think we are?" The blonde on asks in a sarcastic tone.

Wait… did he say past? Are they seriously time traveling!? How!?

"Natsu is a little kid now, so there's no way Gramps could be this young." Happy reasons out loud.

Yep, they are definitely time traveling… Wait, wasn't there an OVA about them time traveling?

Unfortunately, I'm unable to finish my thoughts as the black haired one, I mean Natsu, notices me staring at them. Strangely, there is a glint of recognition in his eyes, and he stays still for a moment, before a challenging grin appears on his face.

Oh, that doesn't look good.

He then rushes over to me, ignoring the "Natsu, wait!" Coming from Gray and Happy, who also took notice of me.

I back step a little as he reached me.

"Hey, Ru- I mean kid, are you a mage?" he asks excitedly.

I was internally shaking at being in the presence of the famous Natsu Dragneel in adult form, but I was managing to keep up my relatively calm demeanor. I quirked a brow at his little slip, but I decided to ignore it for now. "Uh… Yeah…" I respond.

Before he could go any further, he is immediately slammed in the back of the head by an angry Gray, which gets an audible "Ow" out of the dragon slayer.

"You idiot!" Gray scolds, before facing me with a sheepish expression. "Sorry about that, Kid, this idiot mistook you for someone else, pay him no mind." He said apologetically.

Natsu suddenly recovers, and connects heads with Gray. "Why did you do that you perverted stripper" He says threateningly.

"You almost blew our cover, you fire clown." Gray responds in kind.

You could almost see the blue and red auras that surround them when they usually fight in the anime. I sweat drop at the sight in front of me.

"I wish they wouldn't fight at a moment like this…" Comes Happy from the side of me.

I look next to me see the exceed staring at the two. "Are you cat? Why are you wearing a bear costume?" I say out loud.

He backs away from me with a shocked expression, "How did you know!" He exclaims.

While I was exposing Happy, Natsu and Gray must have settled their argument. "I challenge you to a fight!" Natsu exclaims suddenly.

I look to him, and see that his challenge was directed towards me.

"You flame breath idiot! We don't have time for this! Besides, she is like eight years old, and you're a grown adult! What would Master think if he heard you were beating up helpless little girls!?" Gray scolds.

I felt a surge of annoyance at him for calling me both eight years old, and helpless. Before Natsu can respond, I cut him off. "Oh…" I say in a low, threatening tone. "Is that so…"This causes Gray, and even Natsu to jump back a little in fear. I then look straight at Natsu, "I accept your challenge, but if I win…" I then point to Gray "That one owes me 1,000 jewels." I finish.

Gray had a shocked look on his face, but Natsu just grins. "Alright!" He says as he pumps his fist in the air.

"You are both crazy…" Gray mumbles lowly as Natsu and I get into position.

"I'll let you get first hit, Kid, since you accepted my challenge" Natsu says in a taunting manner, and he puts his hands on his waist, leaving him right open.

Oh, that smug bastard, he knows he is going to win, and I have no doubt about that he will. But I have a plan that will guarantee a victory. "Ok, but you'll regret that." I say. I then sprint towards him at blistering speed and I bring my fist up to punch him. Once I see that his eyes are following my fist, I enact my plan.

When I reach him, which was less than a second, I take advantage of him following my fist, and use my foot to hit him in the one spot that every man is weak to. The one spot that will render any man, even wizard saints, powerless.

I kicked him in the nuts.

Since I enhanced my kick with magic, and he was letting himself open to attack, he didn't bother to enhance his body with much magic, so he took that at full force

He immediately collapses in pain, "M-My Dragon Balls…" He says in a high pitched voice.

"Natsu!" Comes happy, and he rushes over to check on his fallen friend.

"I win!" I say in a cheerful voice, and I look over to Gray, who was slack jawed at my victory. He also took off clothes, exposing his well-defined abs. I feel myself blush a little at the sight, but I shake it off.

Damn hormones.

I walk over to him, "What? He wanted to fight and beat up a ten year old girl. He deserves that." I say as I hold out my hand. "You owe me 1,000 jewels, Stripper-san." I say evenly.

Gray looks down to see that he wasn't wearing any clothes, and did his little freak out. After swiftly putting on his clothes, he reluctantly gives me the money.

"Thanks Stripper-san!" I say, and he nods numbly. I then turn around and get the heck out of their before Natsu recovers and does a retaliatory strike.

You might be thinking I might deserve getting punched for pulling such a dirty move, but honestly, I do believe he deserved that. Honestly, what mage of his level challenges a ten year old girl to a fight? Shame on him.

Although, I did catch him starting to say my name. Those that mean we meet in the future?

Now that I'm 1,000 jewels richer, I think I'll buy more cake… Wait, were am I?

In my haste to get away from Natsu, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and ended up close to the place I was trying to avoid.

Fairy Tail.

Oh no I have to get out of here before I'm spotted!

I look away from the building, and immediately notice the red hair woman in a cat costume watching a smaller figure walk away.

Wait… Is that the adult version of my sister in a cat costume?

I forget they danger of my situation by the peculiar sight, and decide that this needs investigating. I was attracted to the sight like a moth to a flame.

I walk up to her, the tail on the costume is somehow moving, and stop right behind her. "Uh… Why are you wearing a cat costume, Stranger-san?" I ask in the most innocent voice possible.

Erza jumps, the tail stiffening, and she whips around. Her eyes immediately go wide at the sight of me, and she frantically tries to cover herself, but that attempt is not very effective." Uh… Um…" She stammers out nervously, her cheeks were tinted red." I was… performing for… a… play! Yes, a play." She finally says.

I raise a brow at her statement, "A play huh…" I echo, before putting an innocent smile on my face. "Can I wear one of those as well? I want to be in the play!" I say in the most innocent voice possible.

The reaction from Erza is immediate. "Absolutely not young lady!" Erza shouts, which causes me to flinch. Erza then regains composure, "*ahem* Sorry about that, but this isn't something children should be wearing." She explains calmly.

I then get a mischievous thought, and put on the best confused face I have, "Why? Is it because it attracts perverts like Old Man Makarov?" I say in an innocent tone.

Erza does a spit take at my statement. "W-What!? Where did you hear that from!?" She exclaims.  
I cocked my head to the side, "Well, Master is really angry at him for constantly..." I then put my hands up and make air quotes, "... 'Trying to cop a feel', and she said outfits like these attract perverts like him" I say in an innocently cheerful voice.

Erza's right eye starts to twitch. She looks like she wants to kill someone.

I let out a giggle.

I then realize it's getting dark and I shouldn't be staying around here for long. So I start running the direction I came from.

"See ya, Kitty-san! Watch out for perverts!" I shout over my shoulder. Erza is still standing there, still shocked by my previous statement.

Running through the streets of Magnolia while using magic enhanced speed was super fun.

I was a couple blocks away from the Inn, and the sun was already down, and most people where in their homes. I suddenly hear a woman yelling, and the sound of horses running. I stop, and look to see a horse carriage with no driver coming right at me.

Acting on reflex, I immediately jump out of the way of the carriage, and look to see a blonde woman hanging on the back of the thing. Being the Good Samaritan that I am, I start running after it, and will attempt to stop it.

Since I was using magic to enhance my speed, I was quite fast, and I was easily catching up to it. The carriage rounds a corner, and I follow. The blonde woman was on top of the carriage now, and making her way to the driver seat. I caught up to the carriage, and leap to the top of vehicle. The blonde woman had made it to driver seat, and I quickly join her. But immediately, I realize a problem.

I have no idea how to drive a horse drawn carriage.

And going by the look of the woman (was that Lucy?), who wearing a sexy bunny costume, she didn't know either.

"Do you know how to this stop thing!?" I shout.

The woman, who I now recognize as Lucy, looks me and shakes her head. "No! But I think I have an idea!" She shouts back. She then bends down and unhooks the horses from the carriage.

With the carriage now without its power source, it start to slowly lose speed, and it eventually stops in the outskirts of town.

The carriage finally comes to a stop, and Lucy let's out a sigh. I'm finally able to talk to her now. I take time to look her over, and I got to say, she looks quite good in that outfit. "Um, Bunny-chan, that costume looks a little tight..." I say, breaking the silence.

"Yeah*pant* it kinda is..." She lets out.

I then act on autopilot, not filtering what I'm about to say next. "It definitely looks too tight around the chest area...But I'm not complaining one bit." I say with a mischievous wink and a devious smirk.

Lucy proceeds to fall of the carriage in shock at my innuendo.

Oops, I don't why I said that out loud. I think it's the hormones messing with my head... Oh well… She does have a nice pair though... I feel my face heat up, and I shake my head to regain composure.

Yep, definitely the hormones.

I then jump off and start runnng back to the town. "See ya Bunny-chan!" I say while waving over my shoulder.

It's was seriously getting late and I bet Celia was starting to wonder where I was.

XXX

When I open the room that we were staying at, I'm greeted by the sight of Celia counting a mountain of cash. She looks at me with a pleased smirk, "Welcome back, Brat. Look what I won." She says as he holds up a wad of jewels. "I just won 500,000 jewels from that tournament. It looks like this trip was worth it after all."

"That's great, Master, but I think I'm going *yawn* to bed now" I say before immediately jumping on my bed and closing my eyes.

Well, today was most possibly the weirdest day I have ever experienced. I fought and "won" against a time traveling Natsu, meet an adult version of my sister dressed as a cat (how I didn't freak out from that amazes me) and made innuendo with future Lucy in a bunny costume.

I think I'm actually going to get some good sleep so I don't have to repeat the nightmare of walking through Hargeon while dead tired.

XXX

 **The Next Day**

Celia holds the small bottle of medicine up to Kagura lips, and pours it down her throat.

After a few moments of silence, Kagura slowly opens her eyes. "Master, Rubi…" She says with a raspy voice.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kid. You should be up and ready to go in about an hour or two." Celia says with a smirk on her face. She then walks to the door of our room, "I'll see you two later." She says before leaving the two of us alone.

"So, are you feeling better?" I ask anxiously.

The fever was already starting to disappear, and her cheeks were getting less flushed by the second. She slowly sits up, "Yes, thanks to you, Rubi…" She says with a nod.

I feel my cheeks flush from her praise, and I avert my eyes, "Well it wasn't all me. Master did most of the work. I just slept most of the way.

I suddenly feel Kagura hug me tightly, "Nonsense, Rubi, it was you that pushed Master to go out to out of her way and get the medicine." She then releases me from her hug, and she looks me right in the eyes. "If you had not have done that, I would have had to suffer all week. Thank you, Rubi. I really mean it." She says finally.

I nod, and I feel a smile grow on my face, "You're welcome."

That was the best part of my day.

* * *

Those who haven't seen Fairy Tail OVA 3 "Memory Days" must be really confused on what the heck just happened. In short, Team Natsu time travel. I highly recommend watching it.

Well, Rubi and Erza meet again at last. Unfortunately, it's the future adult version of her, so it doesn't really count. You're also probably wondering why she wasn't crying and getting emotional. Well, if you look at it from her perspective, Erza is a child like her and only 3 years older, and when you see a fully adult version of your sister in a sexy cat costume from the future, it kinda disconnects her from the current Erza. So the ridiculousness of the situation kinda made her forget that Adult!Erza was also her sister, and she thought of her more of a person who shares her sisters name. I hope I'm making some sense here. If she ran into the child Erza, she would of most definitely of been an emotional wreck. Also remember that nightmare she had many chapters ago? Well, it affected more than she thought.

As you could tell from her interaction with Natsu and Gray, they will meet in the future, and obviously, Natsu challenged her because he wanted to win. There is a scene in the anime where Erza is turned into a child, and fears that Natsu and Gray will challenge her to fight because they know they could win against a child Erza. As for her fight with Natsu, let's be honest, there was no other way she could of won that without resorting to such a tactic. Don't worry though, Natsu is a trooper.

Rubi is finally getting affected by hormones. And she is now noticing things because of that, like well defined abs, and breast (although she was a man, and never really stopped noticing them, the hormones are now making her pay attention to them more again). Her adult mind is starting to affect more of her actions more, so she flirted with Lucy, completely forgetting that she is physically ten.

Celia likes to gamble sometimes, but she is not unlucky like Tsunade. She also displays her soft side when no one she knows is looking.

But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope I got the canon characters' personalities right.


	18. The Law Tribe

**Ok, I'm back! I'm sorry for the delay. A bad case of procrastination hit me. I blame the more recent chapters of the manga giving me a heart attack. I also blame myself binge watching Dragon Ball. I'd like to thank all of you who decided that my story was good enough to follow. It really warms my heart when I see people actually enjoying my writing. Chapters will take a little longer to write, but that is mostly because I don't want to burn myself out. I also want to keep quality consistent. I'd like to give a shout out to my good friend** **redscarfninja for beta reading this and finding the errors I missed. They have their own Self-Insert story called "Holes In The Sky" which takes place in the Naruto Universe. If you are looking for a slow burn story with very high quality writing, I would take a look at it. They are very meticulous with their writing, so it is very detailed.**

* * *

 **The Law Tribe**

 **July 6th, X779**

Kagura and I were standing in front of the job board, wondering what we were going to pick this time. We were looking for more challenging jobs, as the ones we have been doing have been getting old. We were allowed to take B-class jobs by ourselves now, but those were starting to get boring or too easy, so sometimes we would spend a little while in front of the board trying to find the most challenging job possible.

"Ah, Kagura, Rubina, I was looking for you two," came Maribelle's voice from behind us. We both turn around to see her with a small smile on her face. "Are you two about to go out on a job?" She inquired.

"No, Shishou, we we're just figuring out what we were going to do." I answer for both of us.

Maribelle walks up to the board. "Hmmm…" She lets out as she inspects the jobs on the board. She then let's a small sigh before turning to us. "I think it is time for me to take you two on an A-class job."

Well, today was going to be exciting for sure.

"Really!?" Kagura exclaims out loud.

"You think we are ready for those, Shishou?" I ask.

Maribelle smiles and does a small nod. "Of course, you two have been doing nothing but B-class jobs for the past several months. I think it is appropriate that you move onto the next level." She says simply.

And she would be right. B-class jobs were starting to get easier and easier. Also, Kagura and I could use the bigger pay.

Maribelle materializes a job flyer from her requip space and then starts walking towards the door. "Now come. We have much to do." She says over her shoulder and we follow her out the door.

"So what is the job, Shishou?" I inquire.

"There is a village that keeps getting attacked by Vulcans. It is our job to stop them." She says casually.

"And where is this village, Shishou?" I ask once more.

She doesn't answer right away, and there is a moment of silence. "About two hours north-west from here."

"Is there any way we can get there faster?" Kagura asks.

Maribelle shakes her head. "No, the village is in a forest, and is not connect to any rail road."

Well, this was going to be a fun walk.

XXX

We eventually arrive at the village and it was not what I was expecting.

Instead of the usual thatched roof building one might find in a usual small village, there were tepees with colorful designs on them. Farther away, in the center of the village was huge long-house, which I presumed was the meeting place for the village.

Anyway, the village was a mess with food, furniture, and other everyday items strewn about the ground. It looked like someone came through here and almost robbed the place. The entrances to the tepees were closed, so we walked towards the large long-house to see if anyone was in there and when we finally arrived at the building, Maribelle knocked on the door.

A few moments pass before the door opens, revealing a tall man. He was shirtless, but was wearing blue armbands with decorative white patterns and animal skin pants. On his head was a single feather that was sticking straight up. He was also wearing a headband, and his hair was put into two pony tails that fell over both shoulders.

"Ah, hello there, we are mages from Mermaid Heel…" Maribelle introduces. "I am Maribelle Lockhart, and these two are my apprentices, Kagura and Rubina." She finishes and then holds out her hand.

The man smiles brightly and grasps Maribelle's hand. "I am Chief Riley of the Law tribe, and we been waiting for so long for a guild to come." He says while shaking her hand with excited vigor. He then let go of her hand. "These Vulcan have been attacking our village every few days for the last couple of weeks." He says tiredly.

"What have they been doing exactly? Usually, they are more destructive with their raids on villages, but from what I have seen so far, all they have done is leave a mess." Maribelle inquires.

The Chief's face turned serious. "When they first came, they took all of our gold, then they started taking anything with value, and when all of those things were gone, they took anything that was shiny," he explains. "They even took most of our silver ware…" He finishes with a sigh.

"Have they taken anyone yet?" Maribelle the questions.

The Chief shakes his head. "No, but I fear they will start taking people soon though, and even with our warriors I am not sure we can take on all the Vulcans. That's why we hired mages."

Maribelle quirks a brow at his statement. "Odd… Usually Vulcan don't care much for stuff like gold or silverware. They usually care about two things: bodies for their takeover magic, and beautiful women." She then puts a hand on her chin, "I never heard of them raiding villages in this matter." She finishes.

"Well thankfully, they haven't yet." The Chief says.

"When was the last time they came around here?" Maribelle inquires.

"Oh, um about two days ago. They usually return every three or four days." The chief responds. "Though, when they originally came, it was every five days." He then puts his hand up to his chin. "Going by this trend, they may return sooner."

As soon as he finishes, we hear a commotion and we turn around to see three forest Vulcan walking through the village, knocking things over.

What a strange coincidence.

I've never seen a Vulcan in person, but I never expected them to be so huge. They were massive ape like creatures with gigantic muscles, a large chin, and some heart patterns on their arms. To be honest, they were pretty ugly, but I could see why normal people couldn't do much against them.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Maribelle says. "Well, I trust you two can handle them?"

Kagura and I nod before we start walking over to the Vulcan who were just about open a tepee. "Hey, Uglies, over here!" I shout, which draws their attention and when they look at us, I notice something odd about their eyes.

Instead of the blank white eyes that forest Vulcan were supposed to have, their eyes were tinted a slight pink. Their faces had a blank look to them, showing no expression.

One then charges at us, only to be pinned down half way by Kagura's magic. I then sprint towards the pinned Vulcan and jump above it, charging my legs full of electricity as I aim my foot towards the creature's back.

" **Thunder Kick!** " I shout as my foot connects with its mid back. The Vulcan yells out in pain before falling into unconsciousness.

Kagura then rushes past me and nails another one in the gut with the pommel of her sword. This knocks the wind out of the beast's lungs and it kneels over in pain. Kagura then delivers a finishing blow with her sheathed sword to back of the Vulcan's neck, which instantly knocks it out.

Before I could act on attacking the third one, it immediately turns around and sprints away in fear, disappearing into the forest.

Huh, I thought that would be harder. Either we are overpowered, or those Vulcan didn't bother to use tactics. They just charged straight at us, not even bothering to try to hit us. I knew they weren't the smartest creatures in the world, but I know they are smart enough to try to hit or block us.

"Excellent work, you two, I expected no less." Came Maribelle from behind.

The tepee that Vulcans were going to raid opens up, revealing a man dressed similarly to the chief. "Are they gone? Are they going to stop bothering us now?" He ask cautiously while eyeing the fallen beast.

"Yes my friend. These two have freed us from these horrible beast." Comes the Chiefs voice from behind us. I turn around to see him with a large grin on his face. "And as a reward, we shall have a feast to celebrate this occasion!" He yells.

Well, at least that will make up for this underwhelming job.

XXX

There was so much food!

We were sitting at a round table in the long house. Food of every kind was laid out before us, waiting to be eaten.

Kagura and I were sitting on both sides of Maribelle. Across from us was the Chief.

Chief Riley looked like he was waiting for something. "I wish my daughter would arrive soon. She likes to explore the forest, and sometimes take too long to return…" He says with a sigh.

"Daughter? What's her name?" Kagura asks.

Before the Chief can answer, the door of the long house suddenly opens, revealing a short girl, with black, curly hair. She looked a little on the chubby side and was wearing a blue loin cloth, top and a beige headband on her head. She looked out of breath. "Sorry *pant* I'm late, Father, but I lost track of time *pant* and I didn't realize it was getting late." She manages to get out.

"Ah, Risley, I was wondering where you were." The Chief says. He then gestures to us. "We were having a feast in these mages honor for defeating the beasts that have been raiding the village these past few weeks."

The girl, Risley, looks at us and then looks back to her father. "Are you sure they did it? They look a little skinny." She says.

Wow, she's blunt.

"Risley! That is extremely rude! Apologize!" The Chief scolds.

"I'm sorry!" Risley apologizes quickly. She then walks over to the table and sits next to her father. "So they defeated the creatures?"

"Uh, yes we did." I respond. "It was easier than we thought it was going to be."

"So that must mean you're a pretty strong mage then." She says.

"Uh, I wouldn't say strong, but I do know a thing or two about magic..." I say sheepishly.

"Can you teach me how to use magic!?" She asks excitedly.

"Risley! It's not polite to ask those sorts of things!" Her father scolds lightly.

"Right, sorry Father…' She relents.

"Sorry about my daughter, she can be a little blunt at times." The Chief apologizes.

"It is no problem. We do not mind at all." Maribelle responds. "I see that she wants to learn magic. Does she have the ability? If so, she could always stop by our guild if she wants." She finishes.

"Of course I have I magic!" Risley exclaims. "In fact, I have loads of it." She boasted.

Her father sighs. "I have not seen her demonstrate any form of magic." He says simply. "In fact, the last person in our tribe that possessed the gift of magic was Chief Reggie, the first chief of the Law tribe." He continued while ignoring the indignant "Hey!" from his daughter.

"In fact…" He says before pointing to something behind us. "That is a statue of him." He finishes.

I turn around and see a tall stone statue depicting a man that look similar to the Chief Riley, but he had a vest on. The statue was griping a stone staff that had an orb on the top of it.

"Many years ago, the forest was dying because of a drought, and we were running out of food. So Chief Regi went out and acquired magical abilities, and brought good fortune to the land. It started to rain once again, crop yields improved dramatically and it seemed like fortune shined upon us." The Chief explained. He then sighed. "But he never told anyone how he did his magic and no one in the tribe has displayed any magical talents since."

"But, Father, I have magic!" Risley exclaims. She then diverts her eyes. "I just can't get to work whenever some else is watching…" She says in a lowly pout.

Her Father pats her on the head. "Oh, Risley, what am I going to with you…" He says in exasperation. Risley responds by swatting his hand of her head, which earns a chuckle from the man.

"Well, if she displays any type of magical ability, Mermaid Heel would be happy to guide her." Maribelle states in an amused tone.

We spent another half hour eating and in engaging conversation, until the table was completely empty of food. I had gotten slightly drowsy from eating most of it and I would have to burn it off later.

Maribelle looks out of the window of the long-house and sees that it is dark outside. "Well, it seems that we have lost track of time." She states out loud. She then turns to the Chief. "Would have any spare beds? I hope this does not seem rude."

The Chief shakes his head. "No, not at all. In fact, we have some spare huts just for this occasion. We even have a hot spring as well." He says with a smile.

Maribelle perks up at the mention of the hot spring. "A hot spring you say…" She said in an interested tone. "Do you mind if we use it?" She questioned

Wait… Did she say we?

The Chief nods. "Of course. Go right ahead. It's the least we can do."

Maribelle then gets up, a smile was on her face. "Excellent. There is nothing better than taking a hot bath." She then start walking towards the exit of the long-house. She stops at the door and looks over her shoulder. "Rubina, Kagura, come. There is a nice hot spring waiting for us." She says in a tone of mild excitement.

I feel butterflies in my stomach. I haven't taken a bath with another person since my days in the orphanage. And that person was Erza.

I feel my face heat up at the prospect of taking a bath with other people.

"Are you coming, Rubi?" Comes Kagura's voice, which snaps me out of my daze.

I see her standing at the door with Maribelle, looking at me.

I swallow a lump in my throat. "Y-Yeah, just fine. I was just, uh, thinking of stuff." I say in a nervous tone.

Kagura quirks a brow. "Well come on then." She says impatiently.

"R-Right." I say, reluctantly getting up and following them out the door.

XXX

I have never been so nervous and embarrassed in my entire life. I can't believe I was actually doing this.

"What's wrong Rubi? Why is your face so red? I know that we are in hot spring, but it shouldn't be that red." Kagura says.

I look up from the water to see her without her bow, soaking peacefully in the water.

"I must agree with Kagura on this one, Rubina." Comes Maribelle voice.

I look to see her standing at the edge of the spring. A towel was covering her body, and her hair was not in its usual pony tail, but completely down instead. She then immediately takes off her towel and I instantly close my eyes, letting out a small "eep."

"What is wrong, Rubina?" Comes Maribelle's concerned voice.

I hesitantly open my eyes to see her body submerged with only her head and the smallest amount of breast floating above the surface. I feel my face go very red at the sight and I instantly close my eyes again.

"Yeah, are you alright?" I hear Kagura ask.

I open my eyes once more, and I focus my sight downward. "Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine. I-It's just…." I stammer out nervously.

"Just what?" I hear Kagura ask again.

"Just that I never took a bath with someone other than my sister before!" I say quickly. "I-I n-never been n-naked with other people." I finish. I then look to Kagura, who had a quizzical expression on her face. "So I'm sorry if I'm a little nervous about being naked in front of other people..." I say, before I sink lower into the water so that everything below my nose is submerged.

"Oh, Rubi, you're so funny at times." She giggles out, and I feel a surge of annoyance counteract the nervousness from the situation I was in. "We're all friends here, and you shouldn't be so shy around us." She says, before a mischievous look overtook his face. "In fact, I know a way to help you…"

I didn't like the sound of that.

She then started moving closer to me with a predatory look on her face. "K-Kagura, what are you doing?" I ask nervously.

"Oh, just solving that body shy problem…" She says mischievously before lunging at me.

"Kyaa!" I shout as she tackles me in the water. She then starts tickling me.

"Hahaha!" I laugh out, and I start thrashing wildly as she assaults me. "S-Stop *haha* t-tickling *haha* me!" I giggle out as she continues her attack.

"Not until you get over your fear." She says playfully.

Ok, now I was getting angry.

In a burst of speed and strength, I punch her off me and I stand up. "I said stop tickling me!" I yell angrily.

She has a huge grin on her face, despite me giving her the death glare. "Ok, fine. I'll stop tickling you…" She relents. She then points to me. "But at least I got some results out of it…" She says in a playful tone.

I look down and realize that I was standing up, completely exposed to the world.

"Kyaa!" I shout as I cover myself with my hands and splash back into the water.

Kagura burst out laughing and my face heats up to extreme levels. "S-Shut up, Kagura!" I shout in an embarrassed voice. I look over to Maribelle, who had an amused twinkle in her eye.

"I-I'm sorry, Rubi. I couldn't resist." Kagura finally gets out.

I sink back into the water, hoping for this to end soon.

"As much as I would enjoy watching you two play around, I have something to discuss with the two of you." Maribelle interjects. Her face lost the amused look, and took on one that was more serious. "About those Vulcan that you two fought. Did anything seem odd about them?" She inquired.

Now that I think about it, there was something strange about those Vulcan.

"Well, when we got their attention, they didn't say anything, they just straight up charged us. They didn't even attempt to block or swing at us." Kagura responds.

"Yeah, I know Vulcans aren't very smart, but I know that they try to put up some type of fight… Also, their eyes were tinted some weird shade of pink. I never seen a forest Vulcan, but I don't think their eyes are pink." I add in.

"Hmm." Maribelle contemplates out loud. "Pink eyes you say? That is the telltale sign of some type of mind control…"

"Mind control!?" Kagura and I exclaim out loud.

"Yes, mind control." Maribelle echoes. "I had my suspicions that something was wrong when the Chief was describing what the Vulcans were doing, but this confirms them." She then looks at us with a serious expression. "Someone is behind this and our job is not complete until we find this person."

"Why would someone control Vulcans to loot a village? Why not do it themselves?" I ask.

This job is starting to turn into something way more serious. I hope it doesn't end up like every mission Team 7 takes. I'm not ready for evil people and near death experiences. That can come later when I'm older.

"Yeah, Shishou, why would someone go through the trouble of controlling Vulcan?" Kagura echoes.

"There could be a multitude of reasons why someone would do this." Maribelle answered in a contemplative voice. "It could be that Vulcan attacks are not treated the same as dark mages, and the one behind this does not want the rune knights, or other mages after them. Or it could be that they do not want to put the effort of doing the deed themselves." She explained. "Regardless of those reasons, whoever is behind this needs to be stopped."

Oh great, this was supposed to be a simple mission, but now it has evolved into something more complicated.

"If we are dealing with a dark mage, shouldn't we allow the magic council to deal with this?" I ask.

I really didn't want to deal with this right now. I wasn't sure how I would do against another mage. So far, we have been dealing with simple opponents, nothing that really gave us any trouble. Who knows what this person is capable of?

Maribelle shakes her head. "No, that would take too long, and to be honest, I find most rune knights incompetent. The only thing they have going for them is their sheer numbers, but even then, the most powerful mages can take out legions of them if need be." She said smoothly.

Oh, Snap! She just totally burned the council with little thought. If only Doranbolt and the one guy who hangs out with him were here. I would love to see the look on their faces. Speaking of Doranbolt, I would love to punch that weirdo in the face. It may have been a running gag that he was interested in Wendy, but that always creeped me out. Especially considering that I'm a girl as well.

A smirk formed on Maribelle's face. "Besides, it would be bad for the guild's reputation if its ace could not handle a simple dark mage." She said confidently. She then looked at us. "I am sure we could handle a lowly dark mage. Most dark mages are far below S-class, and should not be much of a problem."

"But, Shishou, what if they are S-class?" Kagura ask with a concerned voice.

It seemed like I wasn't the only one concerned.

Maribelle's demeanor doesn't change. "I would not worry about that. Most S-class dark mages belong to the three guilds in the Balam Alliance, and they would not bother with these types of tactics. They are more direct with their approach, and would have most likely razed the village." She explained. "So we will most likely be fine."

She then relaxed and turned around. She then made a sponge appear using requip. "Would one of you mind washing my back? It can be quite hard to reach at times." She asked calmly, completely breaking away from the tense mood of the conversation we were having.

"I'll do it, Shishou." Kagura volunteered.

After she was done, Maribelle let out a small yawn. "Well, I think I am ready for sleep. I will head to our tent." She said before she suddenly stood up, revealing her full body to the world, catching me off guard.

I feel my face burn intensely at the sight, and I'm too shocked to close my eyes. It was like a train wreck. I couldn't look away.

Maribelle gets out of the spring and puts a towel around herself. "I will see you two there." She says before walking off.

My face is burning hotter than the sun and I feel one of my eyes twitching.

"Rubi? Why is your nose bleeding? And why is your face so red again?" I hear Kagura ask.

I wipe under my nose with my hand and look down. On my hand was blood. My face somehow got even hotter than before.

"What's wrong, Rubi? Your face got even redder." Kagura asked in concern.

"I-It's nothing, Kagura. I-I'm fine." I stammer out in embarrassment.

I really need to get over this problem. I'm lucky Kagura is eleven and doesn't quite understand what the nose bleed meant. Unfortunately, that meant bathing with other people more often. I do not look forward to that.

"You sure? I've never seen you get a random nose bleed before." She said in an innocent tone.

"Y-Yes I'm sure!" I shout.

Kagura puts her arms up in a disarming manner. "Ok, ok. You didn't have to yell. I was just curious!"

* * *

The plot thickens...

I'm sorry to leave you guessing, but the chapter I wrote was so big, that I had to split it in two.

We finally run into another Mermaid Heel member, Risley Law. Rubi is very body shy, and is very embarrassed to take baths with anyone. Since she was a guy in her previous life, this whole scenario was even more awkward for her. But she will get used to it. It wouldn't be Fairy Tail without something happening in the hot spring. To be fair, Maribelle is pretty hot.

Rubi and Kagura realize that the Vulcans were way to easily dealt with, and realize their behavior was not natural. Who is puppet master pulling the strings? What are their intentions? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z- ERR I mean Swimming With Mermaids!

And again, I'm sorry to leave you hanging like this.


	19. O Fortuna

**Now for part II. This chapter will be more serious than the last one, and will have swearing. I'd like to thank redscarfninja for helping to edit and enhance this chapter. You're the best beta I could ask for.**

* * *

 **O Fortuna**

 **July 7th, X779**

"What!? You're saying someone is behind all of this!?" The Chief exclaimed with a shocked expression.

Maribelle nodded. "Yes, I believe someone is controlling those Vulcan. Most likely a dark mage." Maribelle informed.

The Chief let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe someone would do something like this…"

"No worries, my students and I will take care of them." Maribelle said simply.

The Chief nodded. "Very well, but if you see the stuff they have taken from us, would you be so kind as to return them? We lost a lot of valuables to these brutes."

"Of course," Maribelle said with a nod before turning towards the forest where the last Vulcan ran off. "Kagura, Rubina, come. We have much to do," she beckoned.

Kagura and I start following her. We follow the foot prints the Vulcan left behind to the edge of the forest. We were lucky they were still there.

"Wait!" We suddenly hear voice from behind us.

We turn around to see Risley running full speed towards us. She eventually reaches us and stops. "I *pant* can help *pant* you find the *pant* Vulcans." She manages to get out.

"Is that so? Why did you not tell us sooner?" Maribelle inquires.

A sheepish grin makes its way onto Risley's face. She let out a small chuckle. "I've been tracking where they have been going for the past week, and I found the cave where they retreat to," she explained. "But, I didn't have the power to doing anything." She then pointed at us. "But you guys do. And if you let me come with you, I can lead you to where they are."

"Hmm." Maribelle contemplated. She then let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. But only if you do exactly what we say. If there is any danger, you will not hesitate to get as far away from us as possible. Understood?"

Risley nodded.

"Well then, lead the way." Maribelle said.

Risley started walking in front of us and we started to follow.

"So, Risley was it? How long have you known about this cave?" I inquire.

"Well, I've been watching where they have been going for the past week. After each raid I would follow them further and further. I eventually found the cave they have been going to, which was yesterday actually." She then let out a small chuckle. "That's why I was late to dinner last night. I followed a retreating Vulcan, the same one that was running from you guys, to a cave."

"Well I must commend you for your stealth skills and finding the enemy hideout…" Maribelle complimented, which got a satisfied grin from Risley. "But that was incredibly reckless of you. What would have happened if the Vulcan turned around and spotted you?" Maribelle then scolded, causing Risley to flinch. "You were putting your life in danger with no way to defend yourself. Next time you do something like that, make sure you have someone else with you."

"Yes, ma'am…" Risley wilted.

Kagura let out a giggle at the sight and I joined in as well.

"Hey, stop laughing at me!" Risley shouted with an irritated expression on her face. "Just remember who is leading you to the cave."

"I'm sorry, it's just seeing you wilting like that was pretty funny." I let out.

Risley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just because you're a teenager, doesn't mean you can make fun of me." she pouted grumpily.

A teenager? She thinks I'm a teenager? I know I'm a little tall, but am I really that tall?

"Teenager? Rubi isn't a teenager. She is eleven, like me." Kagura replies.

Risley face faults. She quickly gets up and she had a shocked expression on her face. "Eleven!? How can someone a year younger than be so much taller than me!?" She exclaimed, her voice conveying the shock that was present on her face.

"Hey! I'm taller than you too, ya know? And I'm younger than Rubi." Kagura points out.

Risley makes a dismissive hand gesture. "Tch, well I figured you hit your growth spurt earlier than me. But you…" She points to me. "Are way too tall for an eleven year old."

I feel myself sweat drop. "Am I really that tall? I just figured that I hit my growth spurt early, and I was going to level out at average height."

"Actually, Rubina, you are quite unusually tall for your age." Maribelle chimes in.

Oh great, I'm freak of nature now, and my teacher confirmed it. Perfect.

"You really think so, Shishou?" I ask in voice laden with uncertainty.

She nods. "Yes, Rubina, most girls your age are about Kagura's height. Not even I was your height at your age," she confirmed, then made a contemplative noise. "If I were to guess, I would say you are the size of someone three years older than you, believe or not."

So basically, I'm the same size as Erza then…

Maribelle puts a hand on my shoulder. "Do not worry though, that just means you will be taller than most women. It could even work to your advantage in a fight." She said with a small simile and a wink.

I let out a sigh. "Well I'm not complaining or anything, but I always wanted to be tall I guess. At least I know that desire will come true…"

"Yeah, well, lucky you." Risley pouted. Her face then grew excited. "The cave is just up ahead now. We are almost there!" She exclaimed in excitement. She then began sprinting, and we followed in kind.

After a few minutes of running through the forest, we eventually arrive at the mouth of the cave. It wasn't small, with it being at least twenty feet tall, and forty feet wide. The inside wasn't completely pitch black because I could some weird type of glowing crystals faintly lighting the cave that would otherwise be dark without them.

"Here it is! One bad guy cave!" Risley exclaimed in a showman voice.

I let out an impressed whistle. "That's a pretty big cave…" I say in slight awe.

"Yes, it is the perfect place for someone to hide in." Maribelle adds.

"Uh-huh…" Kagura agreed.

Maribelle steps in front of us. "Right, let us get on with this. We have a mystery to solve." She then started walking towards the cave. "Kagura, Rubina, be on the left and right of me. Risley, stay behind us. If we encounter something, run away, and out of the cave. We do not need you getting hurt." She explained while walking.

"Right." Kagura and I say simultaneously. I catch up to her and start walking on the right of her. Kagura did the same, but on the left.

We entered the cave, with only the strange glowing crystals lighting out way. "Shishou? What are these crystals?" Kagura asks. The pale green light from the crystals were lighting her curious face.

"I think these are naturally forming lacrima because I can detect a very faint magic signature emanating from them." Maribelle explained.

She was right. I was also feeling a faint energy emanating from the crystals.

"Although, they would not be very useful, because I suspect these crystals cannot hold much magic power." She continued, then grabbed a crystal and after a few seconds, it exploded into a very fine dust. "As I suspected, they do not hold much power. If they could be refined, then maybe they could be useful for something other than lighting." She finished as she wiped what remained of the crystal off of her hands.

The cave was huge and slightly damp. I could smell it in the air, but as we continued along, the cave was getting narrower until it was only about ten feet high and eight feet across. It was very quiet, quiet enough that I could hear the faint sound of water droplets hitting the ground and the faint noise of our breathing. If it wasn't for the glowing crystals, I would be very spooked. I hate pitch blackness.

We eventually run into a split in the cave.

"Well, it looks we got a predicament on our hands." Maribelle let out.

"What now Shishou? Do we explore both paths?" Kagura asks.

Maribelle shakes her head. "No, that would take too long, and the culprit might escape during that time," she explained. "I suggest we split up. I will take the left path, and you will take the right path."

"But, Shishou, what if we run into the person responsible?" I asked with concern.

Maribelle looks at us with a small smile on her face. "If you see the culprit, I have confidence you two can handle them," she said with a hint of pride. "But if there are more than one, however, do not engage, and wait for me. Is that clear?" She questioned seriously.

"Yes, Shishou." Kagura and I both say.

Maribelle then started walking down the left path, her form eventually disappearing.

"Ok, Risley, get behind us. If we see anyone, get as far away as possible. We don't want you to get caught in the crossfire." I command.

Risley nods and we start walking through the right path.

"Do you think you think we'll run into anyone?" I hear Risley ask.

"Hopefully not. Kagura and I haven't battled another mage before. Mostly just bandits and various creatures." I respond.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Rubi. Maribelle has trained us well and I'm sure we can take almost anyone." Kagura said confidently.

"If you say so…" I say uneasily.

I hope we don't find anyone at all, but if we do, I hope they aren't a very experienced mage.

We continue on walking for another five minutes, until we reach an entrance to a larger, more open section of the cave. The crystals in here were much brighter and I could see much clearer now.

"Wait, I think I hear someone!" I whisper loudly.

We find some rocks to hide behind, and we crouch down so no one could see us.

"I'm gone for one day, and you morons couldn't even do what I ask?!" Comes a gruff, male voice.

"Uh, sorry Master, but those girls were very strong!" Comes the voice of a Vulcan.

"Ugh! All of you are useless!" The man shouts angrily.

I look over the rocks slightly to see who we were dealing with. One was a forest Vulcan, most likely the one that ran away yesterday. The other was a man of average height. He has short, messy brown hair, with some stubble on his face. He was wearing a brown duster coat with a dark colored shirt and pants underneath. On the hand I could see, were four rings. One for each finger.

"How am I going to get Fortuna with you failing me every time!?" He continued.

The mind controlled Vulcan started cowering. "Sorry, Master! But we don't know what that is. We stole every shiny thing we could find." It said in panic.

That only made the man even angrier. "Did it ever occur to you that Fortuna could be disguised?" He said lowly, his voice conveying fury.

He keeps mentioning this thing called 'Fortuna'. It must be some type of valuable artifact.

The Vulcan scratched its chin. "Uh, no Master. You never told us what it looked like. You never even told us what this Fork Tuna is…" It said in a dumb tone of voice.

"It's Fortuna, not Fork Tuna you moron!" The man yelled, causing the Vulcan to flinch. "It's the S-class treasure I've been searching my entire life for! It is the object that is said to bring tremendous luck and fortune! Imagine how rich I could be!" He ranted.

Wow, I could see why anyone would want it. If this Fortuna thing really did grant luck, imagine how many times I could win the lottery. Even though mages make pretty good money once they make S-class, it would still be nice win a lot of money like that. But if this thing is so special, why is he controlling Vulcans to do his dirty work?

The mystery man made a sound of frustration. "The only reason I was using you idiots instead of a dark mage, _and_ being so patient despite your constant _failures_ , was because Vulcan attacks attract less attention from powerful mages and the council," he explained, growing more frustrated. "But now that some wizards have arrived I will have to lay low for a while and wait for them to leave. I can't attract any more attention."

He then closed his eyes and his face became one of concentration. "Unless… you were followed here!" He exclaimed as his eyes shot wide open. His head suddenly whipped towards us, and he spotted me.

"Shit!" I whisper under my breath as I duck behind the rocks.

"You can come out you insolent brats! I know you're there" He yelled angrily.

I look to Kagura and she nods. "Stay hidden, Risley, we'll handle this." I command quietly.

Kagura and I stand up and walk out into the open.

The man had a dangerous smirk on his face. "Well, it looks like the brats who are ruining my plan are here," he said in a condescending tone. His eyes then narrowed. "Unfortunately, you heard my plan and saw my face. I can't allow you to live." He said in a dark tone.

The Vulcan then took a step forward and we reach for our swords in response.

The man puts his arm out, and stops it. "I'll take care of them myself. These little brats have already shown they are competent enough mages to take on you idiots." He said cockily.

"I suggest you turn yourself in, treasure hunter, otherwise you're in for a bad time." I say calmly in the best threatening voice I could muster. Of course, only being eleven, I don't look very scary. So I spark some lightning around my body.

"Oh, the cute little kitten is trying to be tough," he goaded, then let out a laugh. "Unfortunately for you, you're just a kid. You will be no match for me." He said with a cocky smirk.

"Very well then. We warned you." I say before joining Kagura in a combat pose. She had her sword out and was in her slashing form. I pull out my own sword and grip it with both hands.

"Oh, it looks like you two have blades," the man said in the same cocky tone. "Come at me then. Let's see if you can actually use them." He taunted.

There is a brief moment of silence before I charge towards him with magic enhanced speed, crossing the distance between us in an instant. I swing my sword at his right side, only for him to dodge. I then start slashing at him with a flurry of slashes and stabs, but nothing was landing a hit.

"Is that all you got, kid?" He asked while effortlessly dodging my onslaught.

It was then that Kagura made her presence known. She rushed in with great speed with her strong form. The man didn't even bother to dodge because Kagura's sheathed katana hit an invisible barrier, which rippled white from the impact.

"Heh, nice try brat!" The man laughed before retaliating with a sudden kick to his side, nailing Kagura right in the gut, sending her flying backwards.

Thankfully, Kagura recovered mid-air, did a flip to stabilize herself and landed. Instead of charging right back into battle, she looked winded and was clutching her stomach, most likely in pain.

"Don't take your eyes off me, Brat!" The man shouted before decking me across the face.

Hard.

Pain explodes in my left cheek as I'm sent flying towards the same spot as Kagura. Like her, I do a flip in the air and land as gracefully as a cat.

"Ow! That freaking hurt!" I let out as I rub my cheek. That jerk had some type of barrier magic deployed. It was going to take something with significant power to burst through it. That barrier must be pretty strong to withstand Kagura's strong form like that.

"Nice try, brats, but it will take more than that to take me down." The man taunted.

I look to Kagura, who had recovered and she glanced at me. Our eyes connected, and we both understood what we had to do.

She then charged at the man with great speed in her slashing form. The man, predictably, started dodging like he did with me. He had the same cocky smirk on his face as Kagura's strikes made no contact. But since Kagura was a better swords-woman than I was, he was putting more effort into dodging her strikes.

The perfect distraction.

I start concentrating an immense amount of crimson lightening into the palm of my hand, condensing it until it was a very dense sphere of energy that was shooting out stray arcs of electricity, sounding very much like a thousand birds chirping all at once.

I feel a smirk on my face at the sight. I always wanted to use this move in combat. This should get through that pesky barrier of his.

I pump an immense amount of magic power into my legs and I rocket towards him at blinding speeds.

I hold my hand out in front of me. " **Chidori!** " I shout. Say goodbye to your barrier, you smug bastard.

Kagura jumps back to allow room for me to hit him.

The man turns to look at me, surprise overcoming his face at the sight of me barreling towards him like a rocket powered freight train. But his surprise didn't last long because he suddenly extends his hand, the one with all the rings on it. He stares right into my eyes, a devious smirk creeping onto his face as the ring on his middle finger begins to glow bright red.

The chidori in my hand puttered out before I felt an intense draining sensation throughout my body.

The ring, it was draining my magic power!

It happened all in a span of seconds as I flew towards the man, my body weakened from magic drain. The man had a sinister smirk as my momentum carried me towards him.

This was going to hurt.

He intercepted me mid-air with a swift, brutal kick.

Pain explodes all over my body, and the wind is knocked out of me as I go flying back. I slam into the back of the cave wall, causing me more pain.

I start coughing violently, and I hack up some blood.

"Rubi!" Kagura screams.

It takes herculean effort to ignore mind numbing pain coursing through my body and lift my head to see Kagura with a terrified expression on her face.

The man lets out a sadistic howl. "You almost got me, you little bitch, but you were too slow!" He said in sadistic glee.

I try to respond, but I end up coughing some more. Getting hit with no passive barrier fucking sucked.

Kagura's face morphs into one of rage. "You… you will pay for this." She mutters darkly.

Suddenly, the man is pushed down with an intense gravitational force and lets out a grunt of surprise.

Kagura charges with a furious howl, but the man smirks once more.

"Kagura! Wait, stop!" I shout through the pain, but it's too late.

The same ring that he used on me activated once more and the gravity field surrounding him vanished.

Kagura suddenly falters mid-air. Her magic was drained like mine. The man intercepts her with a round house kick to the face, and sends her flying in the opposite direction.

"Kagura!" I yell.

"Hehehe, I got to admit, you two are pretty good for your age. But you were way over your heads taking on me." The man said in arrogant and mocking tone.

I start gritting my teeth in rage, but I couldn't move without pain exploding all over.

"Well, with you two out of the picture, I think I'm going to pay that village a visit and retrieve Fortuna myself." He states nonchalantly. He then walked over to Kagura's unconscious body, took her sword and then walked over to me and did the same.

"These are some nicely crafted blades you got. I'm sure they will sell nicely." He then looked to the Vulcan still under his control. "You finish these two off. I got business to attend." He commanded, before walking out of the room we were in.

The Vulcan started walking towards where Kagura was. "Yes, I will finish you off, for Master." It said dully.

Shit, I couldn't move.

"Get away from her you big jerk!" Comes a sudden voice.

It was Risley. She was standing in front of Kagura, her arms outstretched, trying to stop Vulcan.

The Vulcan wasn't affected by her declaration and it continued forward.

Risley started throwing rocks at the Vulcan, but it was futile and in that instant, fear took hold of her.

I had to move, otherwise she and Kagura will die!

I start feeling a small trickle of power returning to me. It's not enough for any type of magic attack though.

The Vulcan was getting closer and Risley was starting to tremble.

I push myself to get up and I quickly assess how much power I have. It was only enough for some enhanced speed and a requip. I couldn't conjure an attack. Unless… I could use that…

The Vulcan stopped in front of Risley and lifted an arm for an attack.

I had no time to contemplate, I had to act now.

I use what little power I have to summon a shiny titanium pipe to my hand. It wasn't just a solid pipe however. It had seams where multiple pieces join together, and the bottom end was closed off and had a rubber grip on it. The top was open and there was a small red button a little bit near the top.

I quickly press the button and a solid red beam erupts from it, extending to about three feet. The solid beam made crackling hum. After years of planning and saving up money, it was time to test my prototype.

My lightsaber.

I use magic enhanced speed to rush at the Vulcan, which was just about to hit Risley and slice with all my strength.

I land a few feet from the Vulcan, look back to see Risley frozen in fear and the Vulcan missing an arm.

And a head.

I think I need a power dial so this thing doesn't kill everything it touches.

All of the sudden, the blade of red plasma disintegrates and sparks start shooting out the top. Then a loud pop, and smoke starts billowing out of it.

It looks like I need a stronger Lacrima as well... There goes 500,000 jewels down the drain….

The body of the previously alive Vulcan falls backwards and I rush over to Risley. "Are you alright!?" I ask with concern.

Her eyes were wide, but she managed to nod numbly.

I let a sigh of relief before rushing over to Kagura's unconscious form. He face was a little bloody from the hit she took and I check her pulse. I felt a steady beat and I could see that her breathing was steady as well. I then check her over for any broken bones, but miraculously, a bloody cheek was the worse she got. I start feeling out her magic core, and like mine, it was very low, but steadily rising.

It seems that ring of his doesn't drain our magic permanently.

I summon a first aid kit from my requip dimension and start cleaning her up.

"Is she going to be ok?" Came the concerned voice of Risley.

"I think so. She is just a little unconscious right now, but I think I can get her to wake up." I say as I finish disinfecting her wounds and applying a bandage.

I extend one finger and start sparking a small amount of magic through it, causing small sparks of electricity to emanate from it. I'm sorry, Kagura, but I need you awake right now. I then touch my finger to her side.

The response is mediated. Kagura's eyes snap open, and she jumps up. "Ow!" She cries, and rubs where I tased her. "That hurt, Rubi!" She whined before she felt the pain from her face kick in. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" She said as she rubbed her injured cheek.

"You took a pretty good hit to the face, Kagura." I say with a sigh.

"Yeah, I figured…" She deadpans. She then looks around and focuses on the dead Vulcan. "What happened to the Vulcan?" She questioned with a furrowed brow.

I hold up my broken prototype. "The jerk we were fighting used a magic draining ring and hit us while we were weak. He then took our swords, so I had no other option but to use the Lightsaber." I explain before putting the prototype back into my requip space.

"Aw, I wanted to see it in action…" Kagura pouted, then turned serious. "Where did he go?" She inquired.

"I think he is heading to the village to get that Fortuna thing he was talking about," I respond before turning to Risley. "Do you know what he was talking about?" I question.

Risley shakes her head. "No, I've never heard of something with that name." She explained. A contemplative look then overtook her face. "But I do remember hearing the stories of Chief Reggie's magic being very lucky… Maybe he acquired this Fortuna thing that the jerk was so desperate to find." She concluded.

Panic then flashed across her face. "We need to get back to the village! If he was willing to kill you as witnesses, then imagine what he will do to a village full of them!" She shouted.

I look to Kagura and she nodded. "We need to get back as soon as possible. Who knows what that jerk will do. But this time, we will catch him by surprise." I say and we start sprinting through the cave. We had to take this guy down before he kills someone.

I could feel my magic reserves refilling and I was feeling stronger by the second. As we exit the cave, we were somewhat surprised by the late afternoon sky.

Were we really in there for that long? Time really does fly when you are getting the shit beat out of you.

How much time we spent in that cave was irrelevant, we had a dark mage to stop. So we continued pushing ourselves, and we reach the village in record time.

When we got there, the man had the Chief Riley at sword point. He was using my sword. "I'm not going to ask you again. Where is Fortuna?" He threatened.

The Chief didn't waver. "And I will tell you again. I do not know what you're talking about." He replied defiantly.

The man let out a sadistic laugh. "Well, that was the wrong answer." He then pulled back ready to swing the sword.

The Chief closed his eyes, waiting for his fate.

Kagura and I were about to spring into action, but it was Risley who struck first.

She took off like a rocket, leaving a bright, golden trail of light in her wake. "Don't touch my father!" She yelled furiously as she jumped towards the man's back.

The man turned his head to see the speeding missile that was Risley, but he couldn't react fast enough as her head connected with his back. The man dropped the sword as he was sent flying into one of the tepees.

It looks like the barrier magic wasn't activated. Big mistake.

We run over the Risley, who was struggling to get up. After we help her up, she had an exhausted smirk on her face. "Never underestimate chubby people." She said triumphantly.

"Risley… You can use magic…" The Chief said in a shocked voice.

We turn around to see him with an awed expression.

"Heh, I told you I could use it..." Risley panted out.

"I'm sorry for doubting you then." The Chief said, a proud grin making its way on his face.

"You little bitch…" Comes a voice from behind.

We all freeze.

I turn around slowly, praying I was just imaging it.

Confirming my fears was the man standing up in the wreckage of the ruin tepee, breathing heavily. He slowly walked out. "You… You whore. You dare make a fool of me!" He seethed out.

I get in a combat pose, sparking my magic. Kagura does the same.

The man immediately holds out his hand, and activates his ring.

The effect is instant, as I, and everyone else kneels down from our energy getting sucked out of our bodies.

Shit, this wasn't good.

The man let out a malicious chuckle. "You really think that head-butt was enough to take out me!? Ron Burgundy!?"

Even though I was struggling to even stay upright, I couldn't help myself as I let out a loud giggle.

Ron Burgundy!? Really!? Even when in a life and death situation, this world still likes to troll me like this.

An angry vein appears on the man's forehead. "You think my name is funny!? I'll show you what's funny!" He shouted before holding out his hand with all the rings on it. "I have four magical rings. One controls beasts. One creates a barrier. Another drains magic." A maniacal grin appears on his face. "And the last one unleashes all that drained magic into a powerful blast." He finishes darkly.

A bright, glowing orb of energy appears in the palm of his hand.

My eyes widen. That would definitely kill us and disintegrate us into dust. We had no passive magic barrier to protect us.

"Since that moronic Vulcan couldn't finish the job, I will do it personally," he said darkly. "Goodbye, and enjoy hell!" He yelled as threw the death ball straight at us.

All I could do is watch in slow motion as it flew towards us. Like a deer caught in the headlights.

*Thump, thump*

Was this end?

*Thump, thump*

Will I really die again?

*Thump, thump*

I can't die now!

*Thump, thump*

There is so much I've got to do!

*Thump, thump*

Suddenly, a figure with a sword in hand appears in front of us and deflects the death ball into the forest. A giant explosion shakes the forest and I'm pushed to ground by the sheer force of the shock wave. I close my eyes as an extreme amount of dust is picked up.

I could literally feel my heart breaking through my rib cage and trying to escape my body with how hard it was beating. I open my eyes and took a look at our savior.

It was Maribelle.

"You dare harm my students…" She intoned darkly.

She was pissed. Absolutely pissed.

I have never seen her angry.

The man, Ron, let out a laugh. "So? What if I did?" He goaded.

Suddenly, an intense pressure burst from Maribelle and an immense white aura flared into life. Maribelle's hair started blowing upwards from the immense aura being emitted.

It was her magic power.

I was trembling from the sheer amount of power being emitted. The aura was so thick, so potent, that it was hard to breathe.

The man looked unfazed. "You really think you'll make a difference, Bitch?" He said lowly. He then held out his hand and the draining ring glowed red once more. "I'll just drain your energy like the rest!" He yelled.

The ring continues to glow, but Maribelle's aura doesn't diminish.

For the first time, panic makes it way on the man's face. "What!? Why isn't your magic draining!?"

Maribelle lets out a dark chuckle. "Oh, it is draining. Unfortunately, I have too much magic for that useless trinket of yours."

The man's ring suddenly broke into pieces and the man took a step back in shock.

Maribelle then got into a fencer's pose. Turning her body sideways, putting one foot in front of the other, her hand behind her back and her rapier forward. "My turn." She said simply.

It was over in an instant.

One moment Maribelle was in front of us, the next she was behind the jerk. She moved so fast that she left a wake behind her, which created a vortex that sucked anything lose.

The man fell forward onto his face as he slipped into unconsciousness.

How could she move that fast!? I didn't even see her move! Was this the power of an S-class wizard!?

Maribelle sheathed her sword, turned around and knelt down to check the man's pulse. "Filthy savage," she said with extreme disdain. "The magic council will be happy to throw you in prison." She said with finality.

She then walked over to us, her face still serious. "How reckless! The next time you find someone that outclasses your abilities, you find me! What were you thinking! You could have died!" She scolded angrily.

The previous joy of seeing her put that jerk in his place was replace with a sense of dread. "Yes, Shishou…" I wilt under her gaze.

Kagura echoes my statement.

XXX

After restraining the jerk with anti-magic cuffs, we meet the chief in the long house.

"I cannot express how grateful we are for saving our lives." He said with a grin.

"It is no problem. Although, I rather the situation had never gotten so dire." Maribelle responded. She then smiled. "But, one positive of this debacle is that your daughter unlocked her latent magic ability."

Risley grinned brighter than the sun.

"He was after something called Fortuna. Do you have any idea what that is, Chief Riley?" I question.

He shook his head. "No, I was telling the truth when I said I had no idea what he meant."

"Well, we overheard him saying that it was an object that brought great luck and fortune to who possessed it." Kagura explained for me.

"Yeah, he was convinced that it was in this village." I continue.

"Hmm." Maribelle lets out. "I think I have a hunch." She then walked over the statue of the Chief Reggie and touched the orb that was on the staff it was holding.

Suddenly, the stone orb flashed gold.

Maribelle took it off the staff and held it out for us to see.

Instead of a stone orb in her hand, there was a white orb with golden markings running across the surface.

"I sensed a faint magic signature coming from the statue last night, but I figured it had some anti-ageing spell on it. But now it appears that I was wrong," she explained. "I guess this is how your Chief Reggie saved the forest and the tribe." She finished before putting the orb back on the staff.

It then flashed gold once more and turned back to stone.

"It seems Chief Reggie put a camouflage spell on it." Maribelle said.

"Incredible. To think such an object was in our possession without us knowing is just… incredible." Chief Riley said in awe.

"Well, you never know what may be hidden until you look around." Maribelle said. "Now that we got that fiend restrained, I have other matters to discuss." She then looked to Risley. "Your daughter displayed some great magical ability and I would like to ask if you would allow her to join our guild so that we can develop her gift to its fullest."

Risley looked to her father, excitement lighting up her entire being. "Can I go, Father!? I always wanted to be a mage!" She begged.

Chief Riley looked to us and her daughter, before sighing. "I guess I can allow you to join. I would be a terrible father if I crushed my daughter's dreams like that." He said with a small smile.

Risley tackled him in excitement. "You're the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed.

While they were having their father-daughter moment, I turned to Maribelle. "Shishou? What did you use on the guy? I didn't even see you move." I inquired.

"Oh, that? That was my magic," she said simply. "I am a master of a magic known as 'High Speed', which allows me to move at tremendous speeds. What you saw was me using what I call 'Mach 1', which is my lowest speed setting." She elaborated.

Slowest speed? I didn't even see her move! How fast can she go!?

"If that's your slowest speed… how fast can you go?" Kagura questions for me.

"Hmm, well I have four different speeds, each faster than the last." Maribelle answered with a wink.

Wow, I never realized Maribelle was so powerful. I knew that she was an S-class wizard, but to see her in action was simply amazing. One day, I hope to be able to fight her on equal ground.

This job may have gone horribly wrong, but we managed to complete it anyway.

Even if we almost died.

…

Yeah, Celia is not going to be happy with us.

* * *

Rubi and Kagura came so close to death in this chapter. If Maribelle didn't step in when she did, they would of died. As you can see, when the magic gets sucked out of a person, they become quite weak. They also faced their first real challenge as mages. I'm sorry for naming him Ron Burgundy, but I thought it would be funny. I wasn't sure what sound to use for a heart beat, so me and my beta decided to use "thump, thump". Not all dark mages will give Rubi and Kagura this much trouble, but you can definitely see how much harder they are to deal with than non-mages. They have much to learn.

Maribelle shows off some of her skills and her magic. For those who didn't recognized the name of her magic, it is the same magic that Jet uses, but Maribelle takes it to a whole another level. Jet doesn't even come close to Maribelle's lowest speed setting. Speed is her specialty, and since she is inspired by Weiss and Winter Schnee, she uses the Rapier and is very fast. If you want to know how Maribelle looked like when she one-shotted the dark mage, watch the Qrow vs Winter fight from RWBY. Particularly the part where it's silence, and then Winter just takes off to strike at Qrow and leaves a back draft that made Weiss flinch. At top speed, Maribelle can create a vortex like Rubi did with her speed during the season 2 food fight.

There's actually an obscure and vague line that hinted Maribelle's magic in chapter 14. It went something like this: "Of course, her father sent men after her, but they couldn't catch her even if they tried. Not many people were able to keep up with Maribelle Lockhart."

Rubi's project is now revealed, and I congratulate all of you that correctly guessed it. I think it makes sense for her to have a lightsaber type weapon, considering she controls lighting, which is a plasma and can be used to cut stuff. Although, it doesn't quite sound like a traditional lightsaber, it can cut just as well. The Vulcan can confirm that. Like Rubi said, she definable needs to put a power dial on it so it doesn't kill people. Also, she could use it as a shock baton if she does it. Unfortunately, that 500,000 jewel lacrima broke, and she needs to spend a lot more money on even higher quality, and higher density lacrima for it work properly.

I'm going to need some time to think of what to write next. It will probably be a fluff chapter or two. But I hope this satisfies ya until then. Lastly, this chapter is named after the classic latin poem "O Fortuna". I like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra version the best.

R.I.P. Vulcan

X779-X779


	20. Developments

**Sorry for the wait, but this chapter was sort of hard to write. I've decided to try to have this story update every other week to allow ample time for me to come up with ideas of what to write. This story is getting more complex, so it's not as easy to write a chapter a week anymore. I hope this is okay. Also, once college starts back up in September, updates will be really slow for obvious reasons. Any way... Some of you will love this chapter, some won't, but this chapter got me the most nervous since posting the first chapter. You'll see why once you read it. It's been awhile since I wrote a 3rd person chapter. As always, I like to thank my beta, redscarfninja, for helping me edit and improve the chapter. I want to thank you for encouraging me to posting the first chapter of this story as well.**

* * *

 **Developments**

 **September, X779**

It was afternoon. The sky was clear, the weather was pleasant and the sun was reflecting of the crystal blue water of lake Sirena, creating a picturesque scene. Running around this lake was a short, lone figure.

This figure was Risley Law.

Ever since Ron Burgundy's assault on her village, she has been undergoing magic education and intensive physical training. Ever since she joined Mermaid Heel, she took up surname of Law, to honor her tribe.

The first few weeks of the training was absolutely hell for the out of shape 12-year-old. But once she got used to it, and the conditioning was over, the real workouts begun. One lap around lake turned into two. Two laps turned into three.

But laps around the lake were the least of her concerns. She could deal with running countless laps. She could deal with hitting the books and the monotony of studying. But there was one thing she discovered that was almost too much for her to bear. One thing that filled her with dread. One thing that gave her second thoughts of joining the guild.

The one thing Risley feared above all else, was dodge training.

Risley was finishing her last lap around lake. Her breaths were heavy, sweat was running down her form, soaking her clothes and light, round bruises littered her body.

Celia showed no mercy when it came to dodge training. Not even Araña, who Celia considered a niece, was spared from the onslaught of high velocity spheres of watery pain. But the difference with Araña was that she had a lot more conditioning before she started getting high speed projectiles thrown at her. It was also the fact the Lana gave death threats to Celia if she hurt her little angel, so Araña's crucible of pain was delayed a year until she turned nine, when Lana finally relented.

Risley being twelve also did not do her favors. It was much easier to launch projectiles at a preteen than an adorable nine year old. So Risley had to endure the boot camp for two long months, each day being more difficult than the last. Every time she thought she beat Celia's death balls, she would get an euphoric rush at the thought of her being quick enough to stop feeling the pain, only for that dream to be crushed by an evil smirk from Celia and the death balls to increase in speed.

So she brought this issue to Lana, who chewed out Celia. Rubina and Kagura looked at her as though they were looking at a dead person and were visibly sweating in fear of her safety. Risley had no idea what she had done. She had no idea that she kicked the bee's nest and unleashed something that would increase her pain tenfold.

So when Lana was done chewing out Celia and walked away, a dark energy started flowing out of the guild master. A chill went up Risley's spin as Celia turned around slowly with a dark and evil look in her eye. Risley looked behind her to find Rubina and Kagura gone.

They didn't want to see the slaughter.

The number of laps she had to do was increased, plus, she had to dodge Celia's wrath at double the speed.

It was that day that Risley realized that you should never snitch on Celia.

Risley finally finished her laps and collapsed on the docks, panting like a dog would on a hot summer day. All in all, she was exhausted.

"Ok, Brat, you're done for the day. Same thing tomorrow, at 10 o'clock." Came Celia, who had her usual smirk on her face.

"Yes *pant* Master…." Risley groaned out in exhaustion. Her muscles were screaming, her lungs were hungry for the air and they ate up the wonderful substance like it was a bowl of delicious soup.

"A couple more weeks of this and you'll be ready to start the serious magic training." Celia said calmly. "Once I'm done with you, you'll be a mage that will bring honor to the Mermaid Heel name." She said proudly.

All Risley could do was groan in agreement, or what sounded like agreement. She could of just done it so that she lie there in misery by herself.

Celia sighed. "See ya later, Kid," she said while walking away.

So Risley laid there, staring the clear blue sky, catching her breath from hell she just endured. She lost track of time as she laid there, but she didn't care.

"Uh, Risley, are you ok?" Came a concerned voice from behind her.

Risley slowly looked over her shoulder to see Kagura looking at her worry on her face.

Risley smile weakly. "Oh, you know…" She said while waving her hand weakly. "Just…dying. No big deal."

Kagura sighed. "Let me guess… Master?" She asked in exasperation.

"Yeah…" Risley confirmed weakly.

Kagura giggled at here expense and walked over to the exhausted girl.

Risley slowly sat up and put her feet into the water. Kagura took off her shoes and joined her. "Master sure does know how to make you work up a sweat, doesn't she?" Kagura asked.

Risley looked to her, left eye twitching. "Sweat? More like a flood!" She exclaimed. "I have to not only run like crazy, but dodge her attacks! How can anyone do any of this!?" She growled in frustration.

This caused Kagura to giggle out loud.

Risley's eye twitched once again. "Don't you laugh at me! This is torture!" She shouted in annoyance.

"I'm *giggle* sorry, but you're pretty funny when you're like this." She let out in a jovial tone.

"I don't see you doing this stuff!" Risley pointed out in annoyance.

Kagura smirked. "True… but that's because Rubi and I already did this stuff years ago," she responded, smirk growing even bigger. "Actually, we were around Araña's age when we started this stuff."

"What!?" Risley exclaimed with wide eyes. "You two were eight when you did this crap!? How in the heck did you survive!?"

Kagura shrugged. "I don't know. But if I were to guess, it's probably because we were just suckers for punishment and braved it out." She answered.

Risley slumped forward. "I don't know how I will survive this… Every time I think that I beat her, she just ramps up the difficulty." She sighed out, then looked to Kagura. "How long did it take for you and Rubi to get out of dodge training?" She inquired, her face conveying a desperate hope for an answer.

Kagura shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I personally never beat Master's dodge training," she answered, which caused Risley to start to lose hope. "But!" She said loudly, which made Risley perked up. "That's only because I started training with Shishou. So it no longer became necessary for me to do that stuff, because I had Shishou there to instruct me."

"What about Rubi?" Risley interjected.

Kagura put a hand up to her chin and a contemplative look made its way upon her face. "Hmm, if I remember correctly, Rubi continued to train with Master so that she could become faster…" Kagura finally answered.

"What!? Why would she actually go back for more!? That's insane!" Risley exclaimed with wide eyes.

A small smile made its way onto Kagura's face. "Well I think it's because she is a lightning mage and Rubi explained to me that speed is one a lightning mage's greatest assests. So she decided to keep at it and she actually managed to dodge Master at full speed." Kagura said with of admiration.

Risley was speechless for a few moments, shocked that anyone could break free of the hell known as dodge training. Eventually, Risley snapped out of her shock. "Where is she right now? She is usually with you?" She inquired curiously.

Kagura shrugged. "She's probably in our room, doing something. She likes to do that sometimes. Just sit in the room and work on hobbies. She can be antisocial sometimes…" Kagura said with a smile.

"You two live in the same room?" Risley said with mild surprise.

Kagura's smile took on a sadder look. "Yeah, ever since we were six we have been living in the same room at the dorms…" She said, her voice conveying a depressed undertone.

Risley raised a brow at the sudden mood shift. "Is something wrong? If you don't like her as a roommate, why not move out?"

Kagura shook her head. "No, I'm perfectly fine with rooming with Rubi. It's just that when I think of how long we been with each other and what led to us being there, kinda makes me feel a bit melancholy…" She answered.

Risley eyed her, carefully thinking of what to say next. "If you don't mind me asking, but what happened? Did you talk to your parents? Maybe they could cheer you up." Risley said, not realizing what she just said. That she touched a nerve.

A tear escaped Kagura's eye and ran down the side of her face. "I-I wish could, b-but I don't…" She choked out, before hastily composing herself. "I don't have parents, nor any family anymore…" She finally let out.

"Oh…" Risley said awkwardly, feeling guilty for making the girl revisit bad memories. "I'm… I'm sorry for your loss… I didn't mean to bring such bad memories up." She apologized.

Kagura wiped the tear out of her eye. "No, it's fine. I didn't tell you." She responded with a sad smile.

"Can… Can you tell me what happened? I don't mean to be intrusive and you don't have any obligation to tell me, but…" Risley said nervously, not wanting to offend the other girl.

Kagura shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all. I can't let the events of the past control me. It's up to me to lead my existence, not something that happened years ago." She said with confidence, but there was still a hint of sadness there, if you looked hard enough.

And so Kagura told how she and Rubina lived in the same village, how it was burned to the ground, how they got separated from their siblings, never seeing them again, and not knowing where they are or if they were even alive.

Kagura, despite her best attempts, could not hold back and the tears flowed much like water would in a river.

"A-After those monsters destroyed everything. T-The only thing I had left, was a girl I barely knew…" Kagura sobbed out. "I-I couldn't see the light any more. Outwardly I was trying to show that I was ok, and forget that it ever happened. A-And for a while, it worked and I thought foolishly that I could forget about the whole thing." Kagura stared at her reflection in the water. "But, that delusion didn't last, and I went back to the darkness. Wallowing in self misery…"

Risley looked at the stricken girl, not knowing what to say.

Kagura looked up, hope welling within her eyes. "However, one person was there for me. One person was there to pull me out of the darkness, and be my light to guide me from my internal hell. One person to save me from walking down the path of despair." Kagura said fondly

"Who? Who is this person?" Risley asked curiously.

Kagura let out a small laugh and looked to Risley with large smile on her face. "Rubi, of course." She said simply, then looked out to the lake, it's sparkling blue waters reflecting the fading afternoon sun light. "Rubi has always been there for me, and has done everything to pull me away from the darkness. She never forgets her promises and will go out of her way to do things for me that aren't necessary. She'll go half way across the country to get me special medicine just because I have a flu." The smile on her face got even bigger. "She has been my pillar of support since that day many years ago, despite going through the same hardships as me. I cannot express how grateful I am for her being a part of my life" She finished, her voice laden with deep admiration.

Risley looked at the girl, who's smile was the biggest that it could get. "So it's safe to assume that she means a lot to ya then?" She asked carefully, but that didn't stop the small smirk forming on her face.

"Yeah, more than anything… More than the guild even..." Kagura responded happily.

Risley's smirk turned devious. "Hmm, by the sound of it… It sounds like you have a crush on her…" She said slyly.

Unfortunately, the reaction from Kagura was not the one Risley was expecting.

She looked to Risley with a confused expression. "A crush? What's that?" She asked curiously.

Risley made a choking noise, and almost fell off the dock in surprise.

 _'How does she not know what a crush is!?'_ Risley thought to herself as she recovered.

"How do you not know what a crush is!?" She echoed her thoughts out loud.

Kagura shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know… I've never heard of that word before…" She responded, before a contemplative look overtook her face. "Actually… I think I remember Rubi mentioning that word before, like way back when we first met… but I can't remember what she said it was though…" She thought out loud.

Risley sighed. "I can't believe you have never heard of that word. Don't you ever gossip with other girls?"

Kagura shook her head. "No, not really. Rubi and I usually don't go into town to talk to other kids, and besides Araña, there really isn't anyone close to our age, so we don't talk to the older guild members much…" She responded before raising a brow. "Is it something important?" She then inquired with curiosity.

Risley sighed once again. "Oh Kagura-chan, you have been living in a world of naivety for a long time haven't you?" She said before a devious smirk made its way back onto her face. "Fine. I'll tell you what a crush is, and what comes afterwards…" She said with a hint of mischief.

Risley leaned in and started whispering into Kagura's ear about what exactly a crush was. But that was not the only thing she explained. She explained what came after a crush and what type of relationship that could lead to, and what kind of things happen in those relationships.

Basically, she gave Kagura the classic "Birds and the Bee's talk", unfortunately, it wasn't exactly the child friendly version Rubi tried to give on that same spot in X774. This was the cruder and blunter version a teenager would give.

As Risley's explanation went on, Kagura's face became redder and redder. One of her eyes began to twitch, and she was frozen in place as Risley continued on. And that's how she was when she finished. Frozen and red faced.

"That's…" Is the only thing Kagura could say.

"Yep." Risley said in jovial manner before she was suddenly shoved off the dock. She emerged from the warm water of the lake with a gasp to see Kagura staring down at her with a face redder than a tomato and a furious expression on it.

"T-That's disgusting! Why would I think of m-my best friend like that!?" Kagura shouted, her voice laden with disgust, but there was something else in her voice. Embarrassment? "How could you even you even suggest such a thing!? That's sick!" She continued to rant angrily.

"Ok, ok! Sorry! Jeeze, I didn't mean to offend ya! I was just joking!" Risley tried to defend herself from the angry girl's onslaught.

Kagura was not amused and turned around, letting out an irritated "Hmpf!" as she angrily walked away, leaving the now soaked Risley in the water.

Left there to think about what happened, Risley blinked a few times before a grin appeared on her face. "Yep." She said out loud, letting out a small chuckle. "Definitely a crush, even if she doesn't want to admit it." She then sighed, and started to pull herself out of the water before walking towards the dorms. While walking, all she could think about was what happened earlier between her and Kagura, and the things she had learned.

"Risley? Why are you wet?" A voice questions suddenly and breaks her out of her thoughts.

It was Rubina.

 _'Well, look who it is…'_ She thought.

"Oh, you know… I was just tired from Master's brutal training, so I decided to take a swim to cool off." She said awkwardly, not telling what really occurred.

 _'I'll let Kagura tell her on her own time. It's not my business to mess with something like that.'_ She thought.

Rubina raised a brow at her awkward way of speaking, but decided to ignore it. "Have you seen Kagura? We were supposed to have a spar about thirty minutes ago, but she didn't show up." She questioned.

"Oh, I think I saw her walk into the guild hall to get something to eat." Risley responded coolly with a small smile.

Rubina sighed. "Figures… I guess I can't blame her though. I do like to get lost in my work…" Her stomach then let out a loud, roaring growl, and her face flushed red. "I guess I need food as well… You wanna join?"

Risley shook her head, knowing it would be a bad idea to be around Kagura right now. "Nah, I already ate and I'm deathly tired right now." She said with a yawn.

"Well see ya later, then." Rubina said and then started walking towards the guild hall.

Risley stared at her retreating form. _'I wonder how you'll react, Rubi-chan, when the truth comes out_ _..._ _'_ She pondered before turning around and walking to her room.

When Rubina walked into the guild hall, she found Kagura with a red face and furiously eating an ice cream cake as if she was possessed. Kagura then looked at Rubina, who was staring at the girl with pieces of cake all over her face with blank expression and was sweat dropping. Kagura blushed and ran off, avoiding eyes contact, leaving Rubi to stare at the carnage left behind

Rubina then noticed that it was strawberry ice cream cake, and anime tears started flowing out of her eyes. "She… She ate my cake…" She cried out.

Rubina the fell to her knees, "It…It was innocent…" She sobbed quietly.

XXX

Two figures were in a field. One was a blonde woman wielding a long, thin stick. The other was an unarmed red haired girl.

It was Rubina and Maribelle.

Maribelle was currently swinging the stick in her hand like she would her rapier at rapid speeds. Rubina was doing her best to dodge her Shishou's strikes. Unfortunately, despite Rubina's speed and reflexes, her arms and legs were littered with marks where she had been struck. Underneath, her body was aching all over and her clothes were beginning to become drenched in sweat.

Despite this, she was continuing to dodge the onslaught of strikes, even though she was starting to get exhausted. If it weren't for the magic power flowing throughout her body, she would have collapsed long ago.

Maribelle's face was cool and collected as she methodically looked for points of weakness in her student's form. She then spotted one and pounced.

She struck Rubina's right arm, which cause the girl to yelp in pain. She then hit her side and finally her calf muscle, which caused the girl to fall to her knees with a painful grunt.

"You did pretty well, Rubina, but you got sloppy near the end. Of course, I attribute that more to exhaustion rather than lack of skill." Maribelle said as she looked at the downed girl, who was currently panting heavily.

"Yes *pant* S-Shisou…" Rubina struggles to get out. Sweat was dripping down her face and her eyes were watering from the pain.

Maribelle eyed her downed student before dematerializing the stick back into her requip space with a brief golden flash. "I think we are done here. Anymore will be a detriment to your body." She instructs before extending her hand.

"Yes *pant* Shishou…" Rubina says before gripping the outstretched hand which then pulled her back onto her feet. "Same *pant* time tomorrow, Shishou?" She asks, her legs were wobbling from physical exhaustion and abuse.

Maribelle sighed. "I guess so…" She started, then quickly seized hold of Rubina's arm to prevent her from falling flat on her face. She then stabilized the girl before helping her walk back to the dorms. "I am curious…" She started once more.

"Hmm?" Rubina responded tiredly.

"Why are you so desperate to get faster, so quickly?" She inquired.

Rubina stayed silent for a moment. "I want to get faster because I… well… it's just that… after seeing how fast _you_ were… I… just-"

"Felt the need to go fast?" Maribelle finished her sentence.

"Yeah… Do you understand what I mean?" Rubina asked, her face now had a small blush on it.

"I figured that was the reason. You are a lightning mage after all…" Maribelle said with a small smile. "It is in your nature to feel the need to go faster. Seeing me must have really awoken those instincts, have they not?"

Rubina nodded lightly. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't fired up at the prospect of someone so much faster than me. It makes we want to work harder and harder until I beat you." She said with a confident smirk forming.

XXX

Natsu Dragneel was sitting in the Fairy Tail's guild, eating to his heart's content, when he suddenly sneezed.

 _"Why do I get the feeling that someone is using my line..."_ He thought to himself, before shrugging it off and continued on eating.

XXX

"Well, you certainly have a long time before you even contend with Mach 1, so it will most definitely be a great challenge for you to overcome." Maribelle responded with a hint of pride at the fact that her student had such motivation.

"It's not only that…" Rubina said suddenly.

"Oh?" Maribelle was now curious.

"I want use **Lightning Form** , but my speed and reflexes aren't nearly as good enough." She answered.

"Interesting… From what I can recall, that is what allows lightning mages to turn their bodies into their element and move with extreme speed. But I also know that it is an expert level spell due to how dangerous it can be to those who cannot control their speed." Maribelle then looked to Rubina. "Am I correct?"

Rubina nodded. "Yes, it is an expert level spell and I know I could do it if I could just get faster. My magic tends to explode when doing the more precise spells, but this one involves flooding your entire body with magic power and using that power to transform your body into Lightning. I know my magic definitely has the power, I just need the skill," she explained, and then a confident smile formed. "Once I achieve this form, I will try to achieve the speed of natural lightning. Then I will for sure be faster than you or anyone else."

"You have got me curious now. How fast is natural lightning, Rubina?" Maribelle inquired.

Rubina grinned. "One third the speed of light, or one million meters per second. I will probably never achieve this and it would probably be impossible, but we do live in a world full of magic, so who knows?" She said with a shrug.

Maribelle's eyes widened slightly, before smiling softly. "Has anyone ever told you that you are smarter than someone your age should be?"

Rubina blushed under from the praise. "Maybe a few times…" She said in embarrassment.

Maribelle chuckled lightly. "Well, I wish you luck in your pursuits, Rubina. It has been a while since anyone seriously challenged me in a contest of speed. I look forward to seeing how close you can get."

Both of them stopped as they reached the entrance of the dorms. "Do you think you can get to your room on your own power?" Maribelle asked.

Rubina nodded, and Maribelle let her go. She then started walking and looked over her shoulder. "See ya tomorrow, Shishou." She said as she opened the door and walked inside.

Standing alone now, Maribelle smirked. "Well, I am in for quite a few interesting years ahead of me." She said before her smirk turned into a full grin. "I think I will drink some tea to calm my excitement." She then walked into the dorms and towards her own room.

* * *

You can see why I was nervous posting this chapter. All I will say is that it will be very slow burn. Also, Rubi will see her as a child for a very long time, and will be comically oblivious. I originally didn't consider this, but once I got lots of reviews suggesting it, I liked the idea more and more.

Risley learned to never snitch on Celia, unless you want to go through hell.

Rubi has motivation to get faster, and while she might not be able to match true lightning's speed, she will strive to be the fastest.

After writing all those action scenes, it's nice to write fluff and filler again.


	21. Growing Pains

**Ok, I like the thank you guys for the positive response for last chapter. I was so nervous to start the slow burn ship. This chapter is a filler chapter, meaning it doesn't really advance the plot, but something important for Rubi happens. This chapter was very awkward to write, and some of you might find it awkward to read. As always, I'd like to thank my Beta, redscarfninja, for her services.**

* * *

 **Growing Pains**

 **April, X780**

Kagura, Maribelle and I were walking through the bustling streets of Hargeon. Spring had finally come to the kingdom of Fiore and all of the snow had finally melted, revealing the green grass once more and allowing the flowers to blossom. The temperature wasn't too hot, nor was it too cold.

It was just right.

It was too bad that I have been feeling like crap for the past few days for some unknown reason. About four days ago, my back and joints started feeling a little sore, and my… uh… boobs… started feeling a little tender… It's still weird to think I have those now…

Also, I just feel like my energy level has dropped off a cliff.

Anyway, we weren't there for any important reason. Basically, we were there for something I had no interest in during my past life. We were there for a shopping trip. I didn't want to go at first because there was nothing I wanted to buy, but somehow I got bribed into going by being offered a piece of cake. I greedily accepted and scarfed it down quicker than I thought possible.

With the cake out of the way, I fulfilled my end of the bargain despite having little energy and went with them on the shopping trip.

While walking through the crowed streets, something in a shop window catches my eye. I stop in front of it to get a closer look at the mannequin displayed beyond the glass. More specifically, the golden circlet on the mannequins head. It looked just like the one Pyrrha Nikos wore.

"Ooh…" I let out as I stare at the piece of jewelry that I probably didn't need. "I could totally cosplay as Pyrrha with that…" I say quietly to myself, ignoring what was going on around me. Suddenly, fangirl fantasies of cosplaying as one of my favorite characters flashes through my head.

I could see it now. Bronze colored armor, a circular shield and a transforming spear. I could totally pull it off!

My inner fangirl was going nuts right now.

"What was that, Rubi?" Comes Kagura's voice, snapping me out of my little fantasy.

I feel my face flush a little. "Oh nothing…" I say before pointing to the circlet. "I want that!" I say excitedly.

Kagura looks at the object of my affection, then raises a brow. "Why would you want such a thing?" She asks curiously and irritation starts to well up within me. "It's kinda flashy and sort of pointless…"

Oh, so she is saying my tastes are _pointless_ … The irritation starts bubble over, and I feel my nails start to dig into my palms.

"And it looks a little big for you, so it won't-"

"Kagura… Please, just shut up…" I cut her off, struggling to stop myself from assaulting my friend.

Kagura backs off a little. "Hey calm down, Rubi…" She says while putting her hands up in a disarming matter. "I was just trying to prevent you from wasting your mone-"

"Well, it's my money and I can spend it however I want!" I half-shout angrily.

"Ok seriously, you need to calm down, Rubi!" Kagura shouts back. "I was just giving you advice!"

Does she think I'm not able to make my own decisions like some young child!?

"Well, I don't need your advice!" I snap back at her. "I'm perfectly able to make my ow-"

"What is going here!?" A voice suddenly interrupts my retort and I look to see Maribelle with an 'I am not amused' expression on her face.

"I was just advising Rubi not to spend all her money!" Kagura beats me to a response.

"She was treating me like a child and calling the things I was interested in pointless! She was acting like I don't know how to spend my money!" I shout back angrily.

Kagura eyes widen and her face then mirrors mine. "No I wasn't! I was just advising yo-"

"Enough!" Comes a decisive shout, interrupting Kagura's retort. It was Maribelle. "How old are two!? You know better than to act like spoiled children in public!" She scolds angrily and I feel myself wilt.

"Sorry, Shishou…" Kagura and I say together, our voices laden with shame. We both bow our heads in apology.

Maribelle eyes us critically, testing the sincerity of our apology, and sighs. "Now…" She says before her eyes sharpened. "Explain."

So we both explain what happened and Maribelle listened to both sides of the story calmly. The whole time, her expression was neutral, showing no bias to either side of the story. And that is how she was when we finished.

She took a few moments to contemplate our words. "I think Kagura should be more considerate…" She starts in a neutral tone, and I perk up. "But!" She then raised a finger. "Rubi, you should have never reacted the way you did." She says, crushing my enthusiasm. "In fact, I do not see how Kagura's action would warrant such behavior…" She finished in a contemplative voice.

I stay silent and reflect on my behavior earlier. I hate to admit it, but she is right. My behavior was way out of line.

My shoulders slump. "I'm sorry… It's just the past few days, I've been very tired and sore for no reason… and I have been finding myself getting irritated more easily." I say while swallowing my pride. I then turn Kagura and bow my head. "I apologize, Kagura. I shouldn't have of gotten so angry at you for no reason." I say with absolute sincerity.

Kagura smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Rubi. I can't stay mad at you for such a trivial thing."

A feeling of gratitude surges within me. Even though I was being a complete… uh… bitch… She just shrugs it off. I leap forward and give her the biggest hug I could manage.

Kagura makes some choking noises from how hard I was squeezing her. When I let go and back off, her cheeks were slightly red. Probably from me squeezing her so hard.

"W-what was that for?" She stammers out.

Oops, I must be stronger than I look.

"Sorry, I was just so happy that you'd forgive me, despite me being such a jerk." I say with a gigantic grin. I just feel so happy right now.

"Interesting." Comes the voice of Maribelle.

I look the see her staring at me intently, realization in her eyes. I raise a brow. "What's that, Shishou?"

"Oh, nothing. I just realized that I have to buy some items that I forgot to put on my list." She answered with a small smile. She then turns around. "I am going to go shopping for my own things by myself. I trust that you two can behave?" She asks while looking over her shoulder.

"Yes, Shishou!" Kagura and I exclaim in sync.

"Good. Meet me back here in two hours." She says as she walks away.

Kagura and I stand there for a few moments, staying silent as we watch her silhouette disappear in the crowd of people bustling through the busy Hargeon streets.

I then look to Kagura. "Well, I think I'm gonna buy that circlet now…" I say cheerfully.

Kagura sighs in resignation. "Go ahead, I'll wait out here I suppose…" She said in a relenting voice.

I giggle and walk inside the store and find that it's much bigger than it appears. Also, apparently it did not just sell jewelry, but women's clothes as well. I shrug and decide that I could use some new pairs of underwear. The selection ranged from children's underwear all the way up to something more… Risqué…

But one pair in particular catches my eye.

It was a pair of panties and a bra that were pink and had strawberries on them. "Ooh..." I say as I hold them up and discover that they are very soft to the touch. "I need these in my life…" I say quietly to myself.

I then feel my face heat up as I realize that I would die of embarrassment if someone ever saw me in such childish underwear. But they were so soft and comfy looking, and after a few moments of great internal conflict, I came to a conclusion.

…

I greedily searched for my size, grabbed a pair and held it above my head in victory. I bet there was anime stars in my eyes with how happy I was with finding my size. Being the size of a fifteen year old meant that I had to find the biggest size they had for this particular pair. Apparently, these were for kids my age, who were average size…

I then walked up to the checkout desk, and the shopkeeper, who was a middle-aged woman, raised a brow. "Aren't those for someone who is like, 12?" She questions.

I feel my face explode with heat. "Um… I am 12…" I say awkwardly. If I had a Jewel for every time someone incorrectly guessed my age, I could probably buy the Heartfilia estate.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean for such insult!" She swiftly apologizes.

"It's okay. A lot of people mistake my age." I say sheepishly before handing her the underwear and the money.

"Is there anything else you want, Miss?" She questions.

I nod my head. "Yeah. How much is that head piece in the display? I really want it…" I say while pointing in the direction of the circlet.

"Oh, you have fine taste in jewelry. That was made by one of the finest craftsmen in Crocus. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit most women, due to it being a little large." She said with a sigh, before inspecting me and a smile adorns her face. "But, going by your current size and age, I bet it would fit you perfectly when you reach your full height. You can say it was meant to be." She then put a finger on her chin and started contemplating a price. "Ah, I know, since it has been sitting there for a while, and you seem like the only one it could fit on, I'll give you a discount. Instead of 20,000 jewels, I'll sell it to ya for 10,000." She finished with a wink.

"Deal!" I say excitedly, and I practically throw my money at her (not really), and she grabs it and places it inside a wooden box. She then starts to put the pair of underwear in a bag, but I stop her. "There's no need for that." I say as I grip the underwear.

In a flash of golden light, it instantly transfers to my requip space.

The evidence was gone, and no one will ever know.

Her eyes widen a little. "My, my, a mage at such a young age." She compliments and she hands me the box that has the circlet inside. On closer inspection, it was mahogany. It too disappeared into my requip space.

"Thank you, Shopkeeper-san." I say while nodding my head. I then turn around and start walking towards the door.

"Have a nice day!" She says with friendly smile.

"You too!" I say cheerfully as I look over my shoulder.

When I exit the store, I see Kagura leaning up against the side of building, looking a little annoyed.

Oops, I think I might have taken a little too long.

"What took you so long?" She asked with a hint of annoyance.

I remember the new, very embarrassing underwear in my requip space, and it takes all the willpower I have not blush. I have to play it cool. "Oh, well, there was some other stuff in there, and I guess I lost track of time while I was browsing." I respond sheepishly.

She sighs. "Well, we have about an hour and a half before Shishou returns… Want to find somewhere to eat?" She asks.

I then feel a wave of tiredness suddenly envelope me, and the back and joint pain that I been feeling all week return.

I think I need to see a doctor. There is no reason I should be feeling like crap all of the sudden.

"Sure, I could go for a hot meal…" I say in a tired voice. Well, there goes my good mood.

"Are you alright?" Kagura asks in concern over my sudden mood shift.

"Yeah, the back and joint pain I have been telling you about returned. No need to worry…" I reassure tiredly.

She inspects me, before sighing. "I bet it is just allergies or something." She says with a shrug.

"I hope so. Because I hate getting sick." I say in exasperation.

After a quick lunch, we spent the last half hour window shopping before returning to the store. Maribelle was already there with some shopping bags in hand.

"What did ya buy, Shishou?" Kagura asks.

"Oh, not much. Just some sticky rice and adzuki beans." She responds casually.

"Why did you buy those?" I ask with a raised brow.

I didn't know Maribelle liked that kind of stuff.

She looks at me, and a strange, knowing smile overtakes her face. "Oh, I am going to be making a special dish for a special occasion, and I want to make sure I have the right ingredients to make it." She said cryptically. "And before you ask, it is a surprise." She says before Kagura and I could ask.

She's planning something, and I was slightly freighted. I don't see the mischievous side of Maribelle often.

"Come. We should start heading back to the guild. I am sure Master is wondering where her magic four wheeler went." She commanded and started walking towards where we parked.

XXX

When we finally got back to Salice, Celia was waiting for us.

"How many time have I told you not take my four-wheeler on shopping trips, Maribelle." She said in a flat voice.

Oh, so this isn't the first time Maribelle has done this.

Maribelle shrugged in a dismissive matter. "I lost track after twenty, Master. You do know how inconvenient it is to walk all the way to Hargeon."

Celia sighed. "Just… Please stop taking my ride for shopping trips." She said in exasperation.

"I cannot make any promises, Master." Maribelle responded coyly.

I kind of envy Maribelle sometimes. Only Maribelle could get away with taking Celia's stuff and not get punished. If Kagura or I did this, we would be dead the minute we stepped out of the vehicle.

We follow her into the guild hall, which was busy as usual.

"Well, I will see you two later." Maribelle states before she heads into main area of the guild hall to socialize.

"Rubi-nee! Kagura-nee!" An excited voice comes from our side and I look to see Araña coming at us like a speeding bullet.

Kagura was able to get out of the way fast enough, but I was too tired to even begin to move.

Well, this was going to hurt.

I was tackled to the ground by the 10-year-old girl.

My body explodes in pain, and I let out a gasp as I'm pulled into a bear hug. So I laid there, on the hard wood floor, crushed by a ten-year-old child… Yep… I'm done here… I need a nap.

"I've been waiting for you to come back!" She says excitedly as she continues to crush me.

I don't remember Araña being this strong! Either she is freakishly strong, or I'm just very weak right now.

"Araña! Get off her!" Comes the scolding voice of Lana, my savior.

I'm released from the bear hug, and I gasp for air. "Ow…" I whined.

"Sorry, Rubi-nee. I was just excited…" She said, her face flush with embarrassment.

"It's fine, Araña, just… just don't do it again…" I groan out. I then slowly get up, still slightly in pain from that tackle.

"Are you still going on the Job with me tomorrow!?" She asks eagerly.

"Yeah, I guess…" I say while rubbing my arm, which had hit the floor rather hard.

"I'm sorry about that, Rubi-chan, Araña is quite excited to go out on a job with you…" Lana explained sheepishly.

"We're going on a simple one, right?" I ask with a sigh.

Lana nods her head.

"Are you not inviting me?" Kagura asks curiously.

Oh yeah, she's here too.

I look to her, and she had a raised brow. "Ah, you were busy, and I well… kinda forgot to ask…" I say awkwardly.

Before Kagura could retort, Lana interjects. "Oh, before I forget. Would you mind helping Risley-chan, Kagura-chan?"

Kagura looks to her. "Uh, sure I guess, but why am I being asked? There are many in the guild that could help." Kagura responds with curiosity.

"Oh, it's just that I discovered that Risley-chan's magic is gravity based, and you would be a much more qualified to teach her than I would be." Lana explained.

Kagura's face becomes one of intrigue. "Oh?"

"Yeah, it's currently an off day for her and I was hoping you would help her out tomorrow." Lana states once again.

A small grin appears on Kagura's face. "I like the idea of having a student of my own…" She says. "I can even make her call me Shishou…" Her voice now had a bit of mischief in it. She had a power hungry look on her face.

Oh great, she is totally going to abuse her power. R.I.P. Risley. I didn't know you for very long, but I will miss you.

"Don't let that power go to your head, Kagura…" I deadpan at my friend's machinations.

"Shush. Don't ruin my moment, Rubi. Let me enjoy this…" She pouted.

"Yeah, well, I want Risley alive." I say in an unamused tone.

Kagura looked at me with mock offense. "What do you take me for? Master?" She scoffed. "I'm not a sadist Rubi." She stated simply.

I wasn't convinced. "Yeah that evil gleam in your eye that you had earlier was real convincing…" I tease.

Kagura made a dismissive hand gesture. "Oh please, you can't prove what I was thinking."

"As much as I would love to watch you two girls argue, me and Araña will be leaving now." Lana interrupts me before I could retort. They then walk out the door, and I presume towards their home.

I look to Kagura. "Just don't go overboard." I state simply, and that was the end of the conversation.

Nothing much happened the rest of day and I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it. I requiped into my pajamas, and collapse on my bed. The soft sheets felt so good, and I started to melt into the mattress. I let out a pleased moan at how comfy it was. Today, and the whole week actually, has been crap for me. I needed this.

"Wow, you are really out of it, Rubi." Kagura says in surprise.

"Mmm-hmm." I groan in agreement, my voice is muffled by my pillow.

"I hope you have enough energy for Araña's job tomorrow. You know how energetic she can get." She continues.

Yeah, Araña can be quite energetic, much like Kagura was when she was younger, but she has been getting more tame over the years, except for when she is really excited.

"Mmm." I let out in agreement.

I could feel myself falling to sleep now. I position myself under my sheets, and the comfort level of the bed increases tenfold.

I hear Kagura sigh. "Well, I guess it's futile to try to hold a conversation with you." She said in exasperation. "Goodnight, Rubi." She finishes, and I hear her turn off the light next to our beds.

I make a groan of acknowledgement.

I really hope I start feeling better tomorrow. I don't know if I could stand being like this for much longer.

XXX

I awoke to the sound of Kagura coming out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet, so that must mean she has been up for a while. She either woke up early, or I slept late.

I sit up and immediately the back pain returns.

Well, today is going to be another crap day…

"I'm impressed, Rubi, you're usually the one waking me up." Kagura says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well *yawn* I still feel like crap…" I reply tiredly before slowly starting to get out of bed.

"You gonna be okay for Araña's job?" She asks with concern.

I give a tired shrug. "Meh, I'll be fine…" I said dismissively as I started walking towards the bathroom.

"I don't know… You were pretty tired from just shopping yesterday…" She pointed out in a playful tone of voice.

"I'll…Kagura, I'll be fine." I deadpan as I enter the bathroom and close the door. I let out a tired sigh as I strip out of my pajamas. I fill the bathtub with water and slowly ease myself into the nice, warm water. "Oh my… This feels so nice…" I say quietly, quite pleased with the warm water easing the back pain.

Unfortunately, as much as I would love to soak in the water, I woke up later than usual, so I had no time to sit here and fool around. So after about 10 minutes, I regrettably get up, and pull the plug. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

I dry myself off and look at myself in the mirror. I had small bags under my eyes. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I wonder what I should wear today…

Suddenly, a grin makes it way upon my face. I just remembered what I bought yesterday, and I feel a sense of giddiness.

I summon the underwear I bought yesterday from my requip space, and my private bits are suddenly covered by the strawberry themed panties and bra.

I then start inspecting myself, and they looked good on me. Even if they were very childish. They were also very comfy as well. "Looks like I have a new favorite pair…" I say with a grin, and I continued to examine myself.

My physique has changed since I first came here. All the baby fat was almost completely gone, and was replaced with lean muscle. My chest wasn't flat anymore, and my breasts were quite noticeable now. I suspect they will grow to a similar size as my sister's. Well, I'm definitely going to inherit the good looks, not to sound narcissistic or anything. I then sighed. "Well, I should start getting ready…"

All of the sudden, I feel a cramping sensation in my lower abdomen.

"Great, now I'm getting cra-OH GOD WHY!?" I exclaim as the cramping sensation increases in intensity. It was so intense, I started clutching my abdomen.

What the hell!? Why do my insides feel like they are on fire!? Did eat something wrong!?

My legs start to become weaker and I realize that I need to get out of here before I collapse on the floor. So with a herculean effort, I fight through the pain of my insides exploding and burst out of the bathroom. I ignore the surprised shout of "Rubi!?" from Kagura and I jump on my bed.

"Kagura *gasp* h-help m-me." I croak out in pain.

"Rubi! What's wrong!?" She shouts in worry.

"P-Pain, s-so much pain." I whimper out, and I feel myself curl into a fetal position. "P-Please help…" I feel my eyes water a little.

Kagura's eyes were wide with panic "Uh, uh, crap." She fumbled out as she took in the situation. She was moving about the room, not sure what to do. "I'll get Master! She'll know what to do!" She yelled.

"N-No wait…" I mumble out, but it was too late. She was gone. "Don't leave…" I groan out. The initial pain had died down, but I was still cramping rather painfully.

Why was this happening? Did I contract some freakish disease? Did someone curse me?

I just want it to stop…

XXX

Erza Scarlet was currently butting heads with her rival, Mirajane Strauss, and she got briefly overpowered and thrown across the guild hall, crashing into tables and breaking them easily.

As she got up to pound that gothic punk, something went off in the back of her head. "My Big Sister Sense™ is tingling…Rubi is in trouble…" She said quietly.

"What was that, you red haired bimbo!?" Mirajane demanded angrily.

It took all of Erza's self-control not to panic, and worried that it would show on her face, she quickly masked it with a cocky smirk. "Nothing. I was just saying that it will take more than some weak love taps to hurt me!" She declared.

This made Mirajane lunge at her in anger and she tackled her to the ground, continuing their scuffle.

 _'Rubi, wherever you are, I'm sorry Nee-chan isn't there for you.'_ She thought as she punched the white haired witch in the face, knocking her out.

XXX

I laid there, alone and in pain, for 20 minutes. Those were perhaps the longest 20 minutes of my life. Where the heck was Kagura!? I'm dying!

My prayers were answered by a panicked and teary eyed Kagura, and Celia, who had a serious, but concerned look on her face.

"Master! Please Help! She just came out of the bathroom in pain!" Kagura shouted in worry. Her voice was conveying how distressed she was.

Celia rushed over to me and started inspecting my pulse and put a hand on my forehead. "What were you doing before this happened?" She questioned seriously.

"I was just getting ready…" I manage to get out.

"Did you eat anything strange? Something you shouldn't?" She asked once again.

I took a moment to think about what I ate in the last two days, and found nothing unusual. "No, just the usual…"

"Was there anything that happened leading up to this? Like, any strange occurrences?" She continued her investigation.

"Well…" I say hesitantly.

Celia raises a brow, "Well what?"

"Well, for the past week, my back and joints have been sore, and I felt like I've had low energy. My… uh… breasts have felt a little tender as well…" I say slowly.

"Hmm, interesting…" She says with a furrowed brow.

"It's not interesting! She's in pain!" Kagura shouts in distress. She was pacing back and forth nervously.

Celia ignored her shout. "Where is this pain of yours?" She asks in a curious tone of voice.

Does she know what the problem is? It sounds like she has seen this before.

"My lower abdomen is cramping like no tomorrow…" I say with a grimace.

Celia doesn't react at first. Then her lips started transforming into her signature smirk. Then she started holding back laughter, until she finally burst into a full belly laugh.

Why the hell is she laughing!? This is serious! This isn't the time to be laughing at my misery!

"Master! You shouldn't be laughing! Rubi is in pain!" Kagura shouts with anger.

"I-I'm sorry *haha* i-it's j-just…" She struggles to get out through her laughing.

Irritation starts to build up within me, and my mood was starting to turn rotten as Celia slowly started to lose breath from her laughing fit. Eventually she gets herself under control.

"Ok…" She starts as she wipes tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry for that. You actually had me worried there for a moment, Kid."

"My insides are on fire! How isn't this a cause for concern!?" I angrily shout.

"Oh, you'll be fine." She said dismissively. "What's happening is perfectly natural." She then laughed again. "It looks like mother nature decided to give you a rude wake up call."

Wait…What?

"What do you mean, Mother Nature?" I ask slowly.

"You know... Code Red, The Red Dot Special, The Girl Flu… Your Monthly Gift…" She explained in a lighthearted matter.

I feel my face go cold at her explanation.

You can't be serious!? There is no way! I can't believe it! I refuse to believe it!

"What is happening, Master? What's happening to Rubi?" Kagura inquires.

Celia sighs before leaning down and whispering into her ear.

Kagura's eyes go wide. "That's what that is!?" She shouts.

"Yep. It happens every month. And I'm sure yours will be due sometime soon…" Celia says with a smirk.

Kagura looks at me, and then at herself, before gulping.

"Oh, by the way, nice panties, Kid." She said, and she started snickering once more. "I didn't know you liked strawberries that much." She said before breaking out into full on laughter again.

Oh, I completely forgot I was wearing those…

I feel my face heat up to extreme levels. This is definitely the most embarrassing moment in my life. Not only am I in pain, but I'm being laughed at and humiliated, too. I feel embarrassed tears well up in my eyes.

Then, something in me just snaps. "Just shut the fuck up, Bitch!" I shout angrily.

Immediately, Celia stops laughing, and the room goes silent.

Kagura was silent, eyes wide, and had a hand over her mouth. She was looking at me as if I were a dead woman.

I then realize what I said, and to who I said it to. I feel my heart stop.

Oh shit, I'm so dead…

Strangely, a tear escaped one of Celia's eyes. "They… They grow up so fast…" She said as she wiped the tear off her face.

What…

"I-I'm so proud!" She declares as she lunges at me and wraps me in full on bear hug.

It hurt like hell.

I let out painful choking noises.

Oh God, make it stop!

Thankfully, she releases me from her death grip and I let out a gasp for air. "I'll be right back. You're gonna need some supplies." She said happily and skipped out of the room.

The room was silent once again.

"So…" Kagura starts awkwardly, her face was slightly pink. "When exactly did you buy those…" She questions, referring to my choice of underwear.

It was my turn to turn pink.

XXX

A few hours later, I was back to normal.

Well almost. I was slightly depressed.

I miss my old life. I never had to deal with stuff like this. Now I will have to go through this ordeal every month.

Araña was a little sad that I couldn't come on her job, but she got over it.

Kagura and I were sitting in the guild hall, when all of the sudden, a bowl of pink tinted rice with red beans appears in front of me.

"I made this for you." Comes the voice of Maribelle.

I look up to see a bowl in front of Kagura as well.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's an eastern dish called Sekihan." Maribelle explained as she sat down next to me with her own bowl. "It's made with sticky rice and adzuki beans." She continued as she handed us chopsticks.

"And why are we eating this?" I ask.

"Well, in some of the eastern countries, they eat this in celebration of a girl's transition into maidenhood. I found the tradition charming, so I decided to make it for you." She explained.

I raise an eyebrow. Why would anyone celebrate this. It was a terrible experience… Wait a minute.

"Wait… You bought these yesterday… That means you knew it was gonna happen!" I shout and point at her accusingly. "Why didn't you warn me!?"

She shrugged. "I forgot." She said rather unconvincingly.

I stare at her for a moment, and sighed. I then decided to let it go. I was done being angry today. I then look down at the bowl of rice and beans that Maribelle made.

I guess this is my consolation prize I suppose, but I don't like rice, or beans. I look around to see Kagura and Maribelle eating, and sighed. I then pick up the chopsticks set aside for me, and clumsily pick up a small ball of rice.

I guess I could make an exception for now. She did put effort into making this…

I put the rice in my mouth and chewed.

* * *

This story is about experiencing new things, and this was definitely something new to Rubi. She now finally getting the full experience of changing sexes. Sekihan is a traditional dish served when a girl has their menarche in Japan. It's not as common as it once was. I hope I got the experience close enough. Although, Rubi might of exaggerated the pain a little bit. She has a severe dislike for pain.

Rubi, like her sister, has childish tendencies. Pretty much all powerful anime characters has something about them that makes them eccentric. But, her buying the childish underwear is inspired by Mikoto Misaka's tendencies towards a toy frog brand. All the people who watch A Certain Scientific Railgun will understand what I'm talking about.

Celia is a natural troll, and even having cramps from hell will not save yourself from her. Also, she was genuinely proud that Rubi cussed at her. To Celia, it was like her child figuring out how to ride a bike for the first time.

You have no idea how fun it was writing Rubi having mood swings without her noticing them. And oblivious Rubi, is the best Rubi. She seriously thinks she squeezed her too hard XD.

Erza makes a brief cameo. Sorry it isn't longer, but this isn't her story. But, she will make more appearances later on.


	22. Lavender Town

**Now that Rubi has experienced what it really means to change sexes, we can move on, for now. Thank you, redscarfninja, for beta'ing this chapter, and everyone for their continued support. College is starting back up this week, so updates will slow down. I'm sorry!**

* * *

 **Lavender Town**

 **May, X780**

I let out a bored sigh as I sat alone in the guild hall, watching the "older" guild members socialize with each other. I had absolutely nothing to do. I wanted to go on a job with Kagura, but…

 _"Hey, Kagura?" I ask, trying to get her attention._

 _Kagura was standing in the field in front of the dorm, watching Risley practice gravity magic._

 _She looks to me. "Hm?"_

 _"It's been a few days and I was wondering if you would like to go on a job?" I ask casually._

 _"As much as I would love to, Rubi, I've got to-I DIDN'T SAY STOP, RISLEY!" She shouted authoritatively. She sounded like a drill sergeant._

 _"H-Hai Shishou!" Risley said in panic and frantically continued her practice._

 _Kagura sighed and turned her attention back to me. "Sorry about that." She apologized casually, as though that never happened._

 _I could feel myself sweatdrop. "Didn't I say not to let the power go to your head?" I deadpanned._

 _Kagura shrugged. "I'm doing things my way, so don't you worry about what I do with my student." She defended. "But, yeah, I can't go on a job with you today. Sorry, Rubi." She said sincerely._

"I should really make more friends…" I say quietly to myself.

Maybe I should try talking to one of the older guild members. Maybe they would like to go on a job with me… But that involves awkward introductions, learning their personality, and talking in general… Yeah, maybe I'll just sit in here… Yeah… The less social activity, the better… I really am anti-social, aren't I?

"Hey, Rubi-nee!" An excited voice interrupts my musing.

I blink, then turn towards the source to see Araña sitting across from me, at the same table I was at.

Oh, look, social activity.

"Yes, Araña? Is there anything you need?" I ask

"Don't tell me you forgot, Rubi-nee?" Araña pouted.

Oh no… What did I forget!? Her birthday!? No, that was 2 months ago. Uh… uh, crap…

Keeping my internal panic hidden, I decide to try and play it off. Ok, Rubi, play it cool. "Uh.. Of course not, Araña, I was just… getting to… that…" I say unconvincingly.

Dammit! Of all the times, why have you failed me now, acting skills!?

Araña pointed an accusatory finger at me. "You did forget, Rubi-nee! How could you!?"

I put my hands up in surrender. "Hey, calm down, I'm sorry." I attempt to calm the girl down. "Could please remind me what I forgot so I could remember?" I say sheepishly.

"Hmpf!" She pouts. "You were supposed to go on a job with me and Mama, but you got sick and you haven't asked to go on a job with me since."

Oh, yeah… That… I was supposed to go on a job with them, but uh… "mother nature" happened…

I feel pang of guilt hit me. "I'm sorry, Araña. Truly... I didn't mean to forget. I just… had really bad cramps…" I explain, leaving out the messy details. She didn't need to know about that stuff just yet.

I still can't believe that will happen every month… I feel my thighs clench together in memory of the pain.

Araña raises an eyebrow. "Cramps?" She asks curiously.

"Yep. Cramps. Painful ones." I say curtly, not really wanting to continue this line of conversation.

"Did ya have trouble pooping?" She inquired in a naïve tone of voice.

I nearly fell out of my chair at the absurdity of her assumption.

"No! I didn't have trouble pooping!" I exclaim, before sighing. "…I wish…" I grumbled under my breath.

"You sure? Mama gets cranky every month, and she says it's because she's consa…consti…" She struggles to get the right word. "Constipated!" She said correctly. "She gets cramps because she can't poop!"

Oh, god. Why is this my life now?

"Once again. I didn't have trouble pooping, Araña…" My patience was wearing thin.

"You sur-"

"Araña! I do not want to talk about it." I snap, silencing the ten-year-old. "Let's just… Just go on a job, ok?" I ask pleadingly.

"Ok!" She said simply, and bounced out of her chair.

I sigh in relief.

"Let's go get your mother, and we can get going." I say as I get out of my chair.

"Mama can't come." She says.

"Why not?" I asked with a raised brow.

A huge grin appears on her face. "Mama is constipated and she has been in the bathroom all day!" She said cheerfully.

I really want to punch a wall right now.

"She said to ask you or Kagura-nee to take me on a job. So that's what I did." She explained, before skipping cheerfully towards the job board.

I take a deep breath. She's just a kid, Rubi. Just calm down, and everything will be fine…

I follow the energetic girl to the job board, which was filled with a multitude different jobs. "Let's see…" I say as I inspect the board for a suitable job.

I can't do a B-class. Too dangerous. Plus, I fear for my health if Araña got hurt. Lana can put Celia to shame if her baby got hurt.

My entire body shivers at the thought of an angry Lana.

A D-class is too boring and not really worth the time. I don't think Araña would like it either. So that leaves…

"How about this one, Rubi-nee!" Araña snaps me out of thoughts with a flier thrown in my face.

I take the flier from her hands and inspect it. "Medicine Needed In Lavender Town! Severe Flu Outbreak! Couriers Wanted! Risk Of Bandits! Reward: 50,000 Jewels." I read out loud.

"I want to help those people get better! I want to be like Mama, who makes me get better when I get sick!" Araña declared with cheerful conviction.

I feel a smile grow on my face. That was actually pretty selfless for a ten-year-old. "Sure, let's do it." I say with an nod.

Araña grins in excitement.

I look down at the paper to see where Lavender Town I located. "It's a few hours walk from here. You ready to get going?" I ask.

"Mmm." Araña says in agreement.

"Let's go pick up the medicine from the central pharmacy in town, and then we should be there in about 4 hours." I say as I start walking towards the door.

"Let's help those people!" I hear Araña shout as she follows me.

XXX

Well, this has been a rather boring trip.

Two hours into our four-hour journey to Lavender Town and the most interesting thing we encountered were some leaves blowing in the wind.

Wait! I see a butterfly!

Ok, now that's the most interesting thing we've seen so far.

Araña was currently humming a happy tune as she skipped cheerfully. She has been doing it for the past hour and showed no sign of slowing down. It got annoying at first, but I eventually tuned her out and started walking on autopilot, getting lost in my thoughts. I don't know how she could keep it up for so long…

In my right hand was black briefcase full of flu medicine. Since I was the older, and clearly the more responsible one, I was the one to carry it.

Now that I think about, if I combine my previous life's age with this one, I was now technically 35… I feel old now... Dammit.

Oh look, some guys with knives and generic clothes...

…wait… That's not a good thing, is it?

Araña and I stop in our tracks at the sight of two men with menacing grins and knives in their hands. They were wearing bandannas, worn out tunics, linen pants and the same brown shoes. So pretty much the same type of generic outfits that every bandit wears…

Why does every random bandit wear the same thing? Seriously. Why can't they ever wear something stylish or unique…

Memories of those stupid bandits in the horse costumes flash through my head.

…Actually, I'm good with generic. There is only so much stupid I can take before I get an aneurysm and start bleeding out my nose.

"Ok, brats, hand over the goods, and we promise not to hurt ya!" Bandit #1 sneered. He was the one with the blue tunic and orange bandana.

"Yeah, hand over the goods!" Bandit#2 echoed. He was wearing a green tunic with a white bandana.

"So, Araña, did you see anything interesting while we were walking?" I question the younger girl, ignoring the two men twenty feet away.

"I saw a butterfly, Rubi-nee. It was red like your hair!" She chirped.

"Don't ignore us!" The two men shouted in unison.

"Oh, really? How big was it?" I inquire, genuinely interested.

Araña brought both her hands up and held them about 5 inches apart. "This big, Rubi-nee!" She said cheerfully.

"Oh… That is pretty big…" I say before looking at the two bandits who were staring at us with angry, yet deadpan expressions. "Oh yeah, you're here too…" I finally acknowledge their presence in a bored, uninterested tone.

They face faulted, but quickly recovered. "We're serious!" #1 sneered as he held out his knife menacingly. "Give us the package!" He demanded, and his actions were soon echoed by #2.

I sighed in exasperation, and started to put the briefcase on the ground so I can dispatch these two idiots. I never thought beating up people would become routine.

"Wait, Rubi-nee! Let me fight them. I can do it!" Araña stops me as I was about to put the briefcase on the ground.

"Don't worry about it, Araña I got this…"

Araña's eyes turned wide and her lip started to quiver. "Please, Rubi-nee…" She begged.

Dammit, she's too adorable to resist.

"Fine." I sighed, relenting.

"Yay!" She cheered and started skipping towards the two bandits who were getting sick of being ignored. Araña was humming the same cheerful tune she had been humming for the last hour. She then stopped in front of the two men, who were looking at her with confused expressions.

"Hey Bandit-san, I'm going to beat you up now!" She chirped.

"Wha-" he was suddenly kicked right across the face by a high jumping Araña, who was still humming her tune. "Ah! The front of my face!" He shouted in pain. "Ah! The side of my side of side!" He yelped as his kidney got punched.

He started to tumble from the punishment Araña was dishing out and she finished him off with a jumping kick to the back. "Ow! The back of my back!"

What the hell! Why is it that every bandit I encounter makes Red vs. Blue references whenever they get hit? Furthermore, why does this world troll me with stupid references!? First it was my first job with the Monty Python demon rabbits, then it was the whole Ron Burgundy fiasco, and I just now realized that we are going to a place called Lavender Town, which I'm pretty sure is from a Pokemon game! There has to be some higher power trolling me, there has to be!

Anyway… back to the action.

The bandit collapsed in pain and was twitching. Araña was still humming and her expression was cheerful. It kind of scared me to be honest. Whenever Kagura or I fight people, we usually have bored or serious expressions on our faces. Araña still maintains her happy go-lucky personality even when fighting idiots.

Bandit #2 was staring at her with his jaw going all the way to the ground.

Araña playfully cracks her neck and knuckles in almost playful matter, and then turns towards the second bandit, her expression still cheerful. "It's your turn!" She grinned.

Ok, now it is really getting creepy. How can she be so happy…? Maybe it's an act to unnerve opponents, maybe under that sweet and adorable frame is a shrewd tactician.

#2 just drops his knife and made a break for it.

"Aww, you're no fun…" Araña pouted before she held out her right hand. It glowed a little before spider web shot out of her palm and snared the fleeing man's legs. Then with all her strength, she yanked him into the air. He yelled in fear as he flew towards the ground in a wide arc, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

He was knocked out instantly.

She may be sweet and adorable, but Araña is pretty brutal.

Araña Patted the dust and dirt off her hands and looked towards me with a pleased expression. "I'm done, Rubi-nee! I told you I coul-"

I instantly rushed past her and swiftly kicked bandit #1, who had apparently recovered and had a knife in hand, across the chest, sending him flying across the road. I then rush over to him and shock him back into unconsciousness.

I let out a breath of relief. "Phew, that was a close one…" I turn back towards Araña, who was wide eyed. "Don't ever let your guard down, Araña." I scolded.

"I'm sorry, Rubi-nee…" She wilted.

I sighed. "Ok, let's strip these two of any weapons and tie them up for the authorities to find them."

We spent the next five minute taking any weapons off them and tying them to a nearby tree with Araña's spider silk. We also left a note explaining the situation.

"Ok, let's deliver this medicine…" I say, and Araña made a noise of agreement as we continued our long walk.

I think I'll hit the hot springs after this job is completed.

XXX

The rest of the trip was spent pretty much like the first two hours, except Araña started humming a different tune, and it was late afternoon.

"Look, Rubi-nee! I think I see it!" Araña shouts, breaking me out of my thoughts.

In front of me was a small little town that bordered a forest and a field of solid purple. On closer inspection, I notice that the field was purple because it was filled entirely with lavender plants.

Well, that explains the name.

Behind the town, in the forest, was a very tall hill. And if I squinted, I think I see a house on top the of the hill.

"Huh, I guess time flies when you are doing nothing…" I say out loud.

"Come on, Rubi-nee! We have to get the medicine to those people!" Araña says with excitement, and she took off, running through the purple fields.

When we finally entered the town, I could see what they meant by flu outbreak. The streets where mostly empty, except for the few, red faced people who were sluggishly walking about.

"Araña, make sure not touch anything, or anyone. I don't want you getting sick. Understood?" I question the girl, who was rather quiet. "The job said to deliver the medicine to Father Mendez, who is at the local cathedral." I remind her.

"Yeah…" Araña says uneasily, her previously cheerful demeanor was gone. She was looking around at the townspeople with worry. Some were coughing and looked barley able to stand. "Faster we deliver the medicine, the better, Rubi-nee…"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry…" I reassure her. "By delivering this medicine, we'll be helping these people, ok?"

"Mhmm." She said in agreement, her smile returning to her face.

We eventually arrive at the cathedral. It wasn't as big as the one in Magnolia, but that didn't mean it wasn't beautiful. I always loved the architecture of cathedrals in my previous life. They were always beautiful works of art. I regret not going to any in person.

This cathedral, like most of the ones in Fiore, was probably built by the religion of Zentopia. Technically, it was considered a cult by the government, but it was really big and might as well call it a religion.

I slowly open the door and inside was wide open room that had beautiful stained glass murals, smooth glossy floors and large pipes high up on the walls. In the back was an altar and to the side was the pipe organ.

It's too bad the sight was ruined by all the sick people, who were laid out on beds. There had to be at least fifty people in here. The only person that wasn't bedridden was an elderly man in a white priest's outfit going around changing wash cloths and putting them onto people's heads to cool them off. He was mostly bald on the top of his head and had white hair on the both sides.

"Father Mendez?" I call out in uncertainty.

He stops and takes a look at us. His eyes flicker to the briefcase in my hand and a mixture of relief and excitement fill his tired orbs. "You young ladies must be here to deliver medicine…" His voice was full exhaustion, but there was relief in there as well.

I nod, confirming his assumption. "I'm Rubina Crimson…" I introduce myself, before gesturing to Araña. "…And this is Araña Webb. We are mages from Mermaid Heel and we are indeed here to deliver the medicine." Then I hold up the brief case with both hands and open it up, revealing the precious cargo.

"Bless you girls…" He said as he walked over to us to inspect the medicine. After a few moments, he closes the brief case and takes it out of my hands. "We ran out a week ago and we have been waiting for some more, but the main road is plagued by bandits…"

"We ran into some on the way here, but they were no match for Araña here…" I gesture to said girl.

"Oh, is that so?" Mendez smiled and lowered himself to Araña's level. "Well, you have mine and Lavender Town's gratitude, Araña-chan."

The green haired girl grinned at the praise. "It was no problem! I beat up those meanies!" She exclaimed with pride.

"Father? How did this start? I never seen so many people bedridden at once from a single flu. Also, the people in town seem ready to fall over as well." I ask.

His attention turned towards me and he sighs as he stands to his full height. "People started getting sick about a week and a half ago…" He started to explain before rubbing his head from stress. "But it has steadily gotten worse and worse, getting to what you see now." He gestured to all the bedridden patients. "Every day I pray to Zentopia and after a day or two, people seem to get better. But they usually get sick again after a few days."

"Why are there so many people here? Isn't there a hospital?" I inquire.

He shook his head. "Lavender town is small and we don't have enough doctors for a hospital. This is one of the largest buildings in town. I don't mind, because Zentopia cares for all." He explained, before realization appears in his eyes. "I almost forgot! Your pay!" He then reached for his pockets.

I put a hand up and stop him. "There is no need to pay us. It wouldn't be right to take your money."

A small smile appears on his face. "You… I… Thank you." His voice was filled with deep emotion.

"It's no problem!" Araña chirped.

I nod in agreement. "Do you know where there is an Inn? Preferably one with a hot spring? Salice is a long walk and I find myself not wanting to walk while it's dark out." I tell him.

"Hmm…" Mendez put a hand up to his chin and took a moment to think. "There should be one just down the street." He then pointed in the direction of the inn. "And if you spend the night here, I highly recommend seeing the Rockwell Museum tomorrow."

"Rockwell Museum?" I echo. The name sounded familiar.

"It was the home of the famous arcane engineer, Henry Rockwell, over 170 years ago. He was said to be decades and maybe even centuries ahead of his time…" He explained.

Something clicked in my head. "You mean that Henry Rockwell!? The one who is called the father of modern arcane engineering!?" I ask with growing excitement.

Mendez nodded.

I make a loud, girlish squee.

"Why would we see a boring museum, Rubi-nee?" Araña asked.

"Boring!?" I echo incredulously. "We wouldn't have many things we have today without Henry Rockwell! Like the magic four-wheeler! Or the communication Lacrima!" I start bouncing in excitement. "We are definitely going tomorrow!"

"I take it you're an engineer as well?" Mendez questioned, to which I nodded my head excitedly.

My light saber flashes into existence, and without activating it, I show off my baby. "I made this. It's a sword that uses my magic as it's blade." I explain.

"To think a 15 year old could create something so well made…" He says in appreciation.

Oh, no… Not again!

"Uh… Father… I'm 12…" I say awkwardly. I was getting tired of people mistaking my age.

"Oh… I apologize, I didn't mean to offend you. You just look the same age as my great-niece" He then lowered his head in apology.

"It's fine…" I sigh. "This isn't the first time…" I say in exasperation, before a tired yawn. escapes me. "Well, I think I'm going to go relax in that hot spring now. Come, Araña, let's go."

XXX

"Thank you for *cough* choosing to stay here, Wizard-san…" The woman at the front desk managed to get out as she hands me a key wrapped in what appears to be a sanitary wipe. Her movements were sluggish, her face was red and there were bags under her eyes.

She looked to be in her early twenties, and had long, silky jet black hair pulled back into a pony tail that curled, and had beautiful dark brown almond shaped eyes. Her face was pale and had regal features, and her body was perfectly curvy. She was wearing a white collared shirt and black pants.

Overall, she was very attractive... Why do I have to be twelve!? I would totally ask her ou-

…Damn hormones…

I take the key wrapped in the wipe and put it in my requip space. "Why are you working while you are sick? Isn't there anyone else that can take over?" I ask with concern.

She slowly shakes her head. "The only other person that works here is *cough* my mother, but she is at the church, bedridden. So I'm the only one here right now." She said sluggishly. "The hot springs are just down the hall, I hope you *cough* enjoy your stay." She pointed in the direction of the hot springs, and despite looking miserable, she forced a smile on her face.

Damn, even her smile is beautiful…

…Wow, puberty is really messing with my head right now. I'm totally crushing on the innkeeper…

"Come, Araña, there are springs calling our names!" I say cheerfully.

We walk down the hall and I open up the door to reveal the hot springs, which were a pretty decent size.

My clothes disappear in a golden flash, exposing my body to the humid air. I didn't want to strip manually because well… I didn't want Araña to see my choice of underwear.

I was wearing the strawberry underwear again, and in my defense, they were just so comfortable!

I then reach down to the bottom of my braid and undo the yellow ribbon that held my hair together and unleashed my massive red mane.

"Wow, Rubi-nee! You have a lot of hair!" I hear Araña say from behind.

I start running my hands through my hair, straightening it out, but it wasn't exactly pin straight like my sisters, instead it had a very slight curl at the end. "Yeah, I know. I think I might get a haircut, because I think I might have too much of it." I say as I turn to face Araña, who half way to being completely undressed.

When I say I have a lot of hair, I meant it. I haven't had a haircut since my days in the orphanage. As a result, my hair had grown all the way to my tailbone and it didn't look like it would stop growing any time soon.

A shocked expression overtakes Araña's face. "But… Your hair is so _pretty_ , Rubi-nee! Why would you want to cut such pretty red hair?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I just felt like I should cut it right now. I wouldn't have to braid every morning, or at least it would take less time." I was twirling a few strands of hair in my hand. I liked to touch soft things.

Araña stays quiet, but she has face of contemplation. I decide that I have put off the hot springs long enough and slowly walk into the water, easing myself into its warm embrace with a very long sigh.

Over the past year, I've been working on getting over my body shyness in the hot springs. So I would go to the local hot spring. I was still shy around adults, and thanks to my hormone filled brain courtesy of puberty, it was very awkward. But I did at least manage to stop the nose bleeds… I can't believe that actually happens in this world… I guess the trick is not to associate bathing time with intimate time, and so far, that has been working.

A pleased "ahhh" escapes my lips as I feel the water loosen my muscles. I close my eyes and feel my body relax. "Oh my, I have put this off for far too long. My feet have been killing me!" I start stretching my limbs and I let out a pleased moan at the feeling.

I hear Araña finally get into the water right across from me. "I know what you could do with your hair, Rubi-nee!" She exclaimed excitedly.

I open my eyes to see her hair down as well. "Oh?"

"You could put it in a ponytail! Less work than a braid and you can put it up high!" A grin was on her face.

That actually doesn't sound too bad… If I combine that with my headpiece I bought last month, I would definitely start looking like Pyrrha, and my fangirl fantasies would be one step closer to completion.

I feel a small smile form on my face. "You really care what happens to my hair, don't ya?"

"Mhmm!" Araña nods with excitement. "Mama always said to take care of your hair and to always make sure it looks its best. I think your hair looks better long, Rubi-nee!"

"Maybe. I'll definitely think about." I say with a shrug. "Or…" A mischievous grin formed. "I could shave all of it off…" I teased.

Araña gasps in shock. "RUBI-NEE! How could you consider such a thing!?" She was genuinely concerned.

I started laughing uncontrollably.

Araña realized it was just a joke and let out an annoyed huff. "Not funny, Rubi-nee!" She pouted.

We spent the rest of our time in the hot spring relaxing before I decided it was time to get out. I walked down the hall of the inn in a white bath robe when I saw something alarming.

The inn keeper was on the ground, barely moving, and groaning as if she were in pain.

I rush to her in an instant and roll her on her back. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavy. I put my hand on her forehead, only to discover that she was burning up. I check her pulse and I found it pretty normal. Strangely, her magic levels felt very low…

She produced another pained groan.

… I need to get her to Father Mendez as soon as possible!

I carefully pick her up bridal style and rush to the church as fast and as safely as possible. I couldn't go full speed because it would probably give her whiplash. I burst through the doors to see Father Mendez still caring for people, despite it being dark outside.

"Father! I got another person who needs help!" I shout with worry.

His eyes go wide and he rushes over to me and checks the Innkeeper's forehead. "Oh dear, poor Izumi-chan. Her mother is here as well."

Izumi… Dang, even her name is attractive!

…This isn't the time to let your hormones get the better of you, Rubi! Her life is in danger!

Mendez pointed to an empty bed. "Put her over there. I'll take care of the rest."

I complied and quickly, but carefully set her into the bed.

"Thank you, Rubina-chan. She is in good hands now; you can go back to the Inn." Mendez said as he put a wet wash cloth on her head.

I nod. "Take care of her, Father."

"Of course." He nodded back.

Walking back to the inn through the streets of Lavender Town, I finally had enough time to process the situation.

This flu is really putting a number on these people. It must be some type of new super strain to be able to do this much damage… Although, I don't know why the Innkeeper, I mean Izumi, had such low magic levels. I don't think the flu did that. Yeah, it could prevent most mages from doing magic, but that was because it ruined their concentration, not because it drained their power. In fact, most sicknesses didn't drain magic as far as I am aware of. They just ruined concentration.

I feel a wave of tiredness hit my body, and I feel the adrenaline rush I had from this whole ordeal crash. I let out huge yawn.

Maybe I'm over thinking it. Maybe Izumi was a mage with small magic reserves and was practicing when the flu made her collapse… I'm too tired to think about this right now. I sure everything will be fine.

XXX

In a secret underground lair, there was a man staring at a large sphere. It was a giant lacrima, and it was pulsating with light. There were hoses connected to the lacrima, and they lead to a large, cloaked mass that towered over the man.

"Good… It is almost ready. Another week or so and the reckoning will begin…" The man then started laughing malevolently.

* * *

The plot thickens. A simple job turns out to be something more. So begins another multi-chapter arc. It will be either 2 or 3 chapters long. I actually wrote an outline on paper, which is 7 pages long. To give a comparison, the arc with Risley and the law tribe was 2 written pages, and 30 pages on Microsoft word, with 10,000 words. I have to write the rest of the arc now.

Since Rubi is the size of a 15 year old, she keeps getting mistaken as a teenager. Puberty is hitting her harder, making her crush on attractive people. Arana was so fun to write, and I hope this gives her more development, because I have been neglecting characters. Rubi can't get a break, the world just likes to troll her with references, and she is right about a higher power screwing with her, and his name is grifman275. Kagura is totally abusing her power, because she enjoys it. Rubi hasn't had a hair cut since her days in the orphanage, it is very long and goes down to her tailbone. She is getting closer and closer to her fangirl fantasies. She is becoming less body shy, but she still gets embarrassed around adults. But at least the perverted nose bleeds have stopped.

Sorry for the vague last paragraph, but I did that on purpose.


	23. The Rockwell Museum

**Ok, I really had to push myself to write this because of college now being back in session. Hopefully, the next chapter won't be delayed. This chapter is very info heavy. I'd like to thank RadioPoisoning for the helping me with some foreign vocabulary. As always, I'd like to thank my beta, redscarfninja, for editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **The Rockwell Museum**

I awoke to silence, which was weird, because there was usually an alarm blaring in my ear. I then remember where I was. A tired yawn escapes me and I try to move my arms to stretch. My right arm went up with no problem, but my left arm, however was restrained by a warm mass.

I turn my head to see Araña latched onto it like a leech, happily snoozing away with a small smile on her face. She must have moved to my bed last night… She's pretty adorable when she isn't bouncing around.

I manage to pry the green haired girl off of me and sit up. I start cracking my joints, reveling in the feeling, and then slowly depart the bed, making sure not to disturb the other occupant.

I 'I am wearing pink, silk pajamas because I enjoy the softer things in life, and my hair is down. It is pretty dark in the room where we were staying, with the only source light coming from sunlight seeping in from the cracks of the drapes.

I walk over to them and open them up. Immediately, light floods into the room and blinds me. "Ow, that stings…" I put an arm up to block the offending light. After a few moments, my eyes adjust and I look out the window to see that it was a clear and sunny day. Going by the shadows on the ground, it was probably close to ten o'clock. It looks like I slept a little later than usual, but that's ok, I needed the sleep. After I visit the museum, another 4-hour walk awaits me…

A small yawn breaks me out of my musing. I turn around to see Araña sitting up with heavy eyes, and cow licked hair. "Good morning, Araña-chan, did my bed prove more comfortable?" I tease.

Said girl blinks tiredly at me for a few seconds, taking time to comprehend my words. Her face then turns a deep scarlet, and her eyes widen. "Um, Rubi-nee, I, uh, can explain!" She blabbers out defensively.

I can feel the smirk forming on my face. "Go on…" I prompt playfully.

"I… uh…" She stumbles out, not having a valid explanation. "I sometimes sleepwalk into Mama's bed, and I guess you were the closest thing to Mama…" Her face is still red as she twiddles her thumbs nervously.

I approach the bed, letting out small giggles along the way before I climb onto the mattress and crawl towards her. I then put a hand on her head and fix her cow licked hair. "It's fine, Araña, really. We all have our habits." I then bring her into a full body hug. She was just too adorable to resist.

I feel her return the hug. "Thank you, Rubi-nee."

"Anytime." I let go of her and I see that her face was no longer cherry red. "Go get dressed. We have a museum to visit."

"Mhmm."

XXX

As we were walking out of the Inn, I left some extra tip money at the front desk. I felt kind of bad for the Inn keeper...

Walking through the streets once again, nothing had changed, except that there was bit more people roaming the streets. And also like yesterday, they all look like they wante to collapse in the middle of the streets.

"Ok, Araña, let's make our way towards…" I just remembered something. I pause briefly as I remember something. "…Museum." I have no idea where the heck the Museum is. "Araña, did you happen hear Father Mendez, or anybody really, mention where the Museum is?"

"Hmm…" she places her hand on her chin, trying to recall any information on the Museum's location. "Nope," she says eventually, making a popping sound to emphasize the 'p'.

"Great, we will just have to ask someone…" My shoulders slump as I start looking for someone who could help us. I notice a teenage boy, who looks to be around 15-16, walking in our direction. He has spikey black hair and was wearing a white collared shirt with dark colored pants. he was staring ahead, probably running on autopilot, looking like the rest of the people in this town.

"Excuse me." I wave him down, getting his attention.

He stops and looks at me blankly for a few moments before snapping out of his daze. Strangely, he starts blushing and frantically started straightening himself up. He pufs out his chest a little and broadens his shoulders. "Uh, yes! *cough* How can I help you." He says in a smooth tone of voice that also sounds forced.

Why is he acting so weird? Maybe it's the flu messing with his head.

I raise a brow at his actions, but decide not to comment on it. "Um, yeah, we were looking for the Rockwell Museum and were wondering if you would be so kind as to tell us where it is?" I ask calmly, not acknowledging his weird behavior.

He puts on a semi-confident smirk and layed a hand on the building we were standing next to, trying to appear cool, even though his cheeks were still slightly pink. "Yeah, just follow the main road all the way to that the top of that hill over there." He points in the direction of the hill. "It's the building on top of it. You can't miss it."

Oh, so there was something at the top of the hill. Well, at least I can't miss it. It shouldn't take that long to reach it.

"So, uh…" The teen's nervous remark breaks me out of my thoughts. He was blushing and looked very nervous. Seriously, what is with this guy? "After you are done with that museum, would you… uh… like to go to the café with me?"

Oh god no… This can't be happening! Anything but that! He seriously thinks I'm a teenager… Never mind that, I'm actually being asked out by an older boy! I think I'm starting to hate being tall just because of these situations. How embarrassing!

I feel my face heat up from half annoyance, and half embarrassment. "U-Uh…" I stammer out, not knowing how to handle the situation since I had never been in one like this before. "I-I think you got the wrong idea…" I take a deep breath to compose my self. That, and I'm trying my hardest not show my annoyance. "…I'm 12"

The reaction was immediate. The teen's eyes go wide as saucers and his mouth drops. He stays like that for a few moments, making me think his mind broke. It was silent, I was staring at him, sweatdropping, and I look over to see a tumble weed roll by. He then snaps out of his stupor. "I-I will… Uh… just… BYE!" He immediately bolts in the opposite direction, picking up dust. "SUCH MISFORTUNE!" He shouts as he disappears into the town.

"Rubi-nee, what just happened?" Araña asks.

"I…I don't want to explain it. Let's just get to the museum…" I sigh.

He was kind of cute though…

I smack my cheek, which was heating up, and banish the traitorous thoughts. I can't believe I'm getting flustered over a boy asking me out!

XXX

Erza Scarlet suddenly awakes from her slumber in a cold sweat. She bolts upward with a gasp, and strangely, a feeling of protective anger started welling up within her. Her fists were clenching, and she started feeling extremely irritated.

"Why do I feel like I want to punch something…" She seethes.

Despite her best attempts to restrain herself, Erza needed an outlet for this mysterious feeling of anger. So when she walked into the guild hall, she went straight for Mirajane, and punched her without warning, knocking her out.

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna shouted in worry as she ran over to her fallen sister.

XXX

The road that led into the forest and straight towards the top of the hill was made of red brick, and looked like it was meticulously kept nice and repaired. Every brick was perfectly rectangular, there wasn't a single one out of place and because of that, it was very aesthetically pleasing. It was perhaps the smoothest road I have ever walked on in this world. Just what my feet needed.

But nice road aside, the walk to the museum was actually pretty boring. Sure, there was the very beautiful forest and nature was all around us, but it kind of lost its charm after spending four hours walking through it. After about ten minutes of walking uphill, we come upon a large two story house. It looked like one of those old houses that one would find in Germany back in my old world. It was a cream color, with a brown pointed roof and decorative wood paneling making lines across the outside of the building. There were red flowers lining the bottom of the house, and above the front door, in golden letters, read 'Rockwell'.

"Are you sure this isn't just an old house, Rubi-nee" Araña questions skeptically.

"Well, I'm guessing this is his house and workshop, and they turned it into a museum." I shrug before a grin appears on my face. "Regardless, I've been waiting all day for this..." I then walk up the small steps that led up to the door, and reach for the door handle.

The door opens before I could touch the handle, causing me yelp in surprise and jump backwards a few feet. Standing in the doorway is a tall man wearing a brown suit, with matching khaki pants and leather shoes. Underneath the suit jacket was a white collared shirt with a red tie. He had blue eyes, high cheek bones, and a rectangular shaped head with a square chin. His hair is long and brown, and is pulled back into a pony tail, with some loose strands hanging over his face. High up on the bridge of his nose were some round, wire framed reading glasses.

"Ah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to frighten you. I just saw you two waiting outside and didn't know if you needed help or not." His thin lips were set into a small smile.

"You didn't frighten me, Mister. Rubi-nee was the one who was scared." Araña declares.

I look to the brat. "I was not scared! I was startled! There's a difference!" I defend. My cheeks are now staring to heat up.

"You were totally scared, Rubi-nee! You are a scaredy cat!" She teases and stuck out a tongue in defiance.

Why that little…Why am I fighting with ten-year-old?

I take a deep breath, deciding to ignore her and turn back towards the man, who has an amused expression on his face. "Is this the Henry Rockwell Museum? And you said you were watching us, but I didn't see you looking out the window. How did you know we were out here?" I ask curiously.

"Ah, this…" He gestures to the house." Is in fact the Henry Rockwell Museum, which was also his personal residence and workshop." He has a large, proud smile on his face. "And as for me knowing you two were out here, well, it is because of this…" He then points to a small, brown crystal that was above the door. "That is a surveillance lacrima. It transmits to another lacrima inside and is one of the many marvelous inventions of the great Henry Rockwell." He then snaps his fingers. "Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself!" He then walks towards me with his arm outstretched. "I am Victor, curator of the Henry Rockwell Museum." I met his hand with mine and shook.

"Rubina Crimson, wizard of Mermaid Heel." I introduce.

"Araña Webb, also a wizard of Mermaid Heel" Araña also shook hands with the man.

"Oh, wizards at such a young age? You sure are starting early, that's for sure. I assume you came through Lavander Town?" He asks, to which I reply with a simple, sad nod. "It has been pretty bad down there since the flu hit, but thankfully, being so far out in the forest has quarantined me from the rest, so I have been very healthy." He then pulls out a small yellow container, which looks similar to the ones you get at a pharmacy, and takes out a small pill. He then proceeds to swallow it. "Unfortunately though, living up here, in the forest, has really made my allergies flare up. With the flu outbreak happening, I can't risk going down to town and picking up some more allergy medication, so I really have to make sure I ration my supply."

"Well you won't have to worry much longer, me and Rubi-nee just got done delivering medicine to Father Mendez, and soon the flu will be over!" Araña cheers.

"Well, I want to thank you two for delivering much needed supplies." He then gestures to the museum. "Well, I think you two have been kept waiting long enough, let's head inside and I'll give you the full tour." We then follow him into the museum.

The inside was filled many weird and mechanical objects in glass display cases. The floor looks like it is solid redwood, and the air smells of wood that is centuries old and there is the faint smell of oil as well. Most likely from the many inventions that are stored here.

"This house was built 190 years ago in X590 by Henry Rockwell's father, Gerald Rockwell, who was an architect." Victor points to a black and white photograph on the wall of a man with a long beard and short, dark hair. "A year later, Henry was born in this very house." He then gestures to another old picture with the same man, who was standing next to a woman with long hair and was holding a baby in her arms. They both looked very happy. "Growing up, Henry was awed by his father's attention to detail and design when constructing architectural wonders. So initially, he wanted to be just like his father, but he eventually found his passion in tinkering when his father's expensive lacrima powered furnace broke." He then gestures to an old fashioned furnace that was against the wall. "He was not only able to repair the lacrima, but increase its heat output while decreasing its energy drain rate by 50%."

"But!" He exclaims. "I'm sure you two aren't here to learn about furnaces, so let us continue." He gestures for us to follow him and he leads us into an open room. In the center of it was something that looks very familiar. "This here is Henry Rockwell's first major invention, the horseless ethernano powered four wheeled carriage. But you may know it today as the magic four-wheeler." Beside him was a magic four-wheeler, but it looks… Older, but yet not too different from what Celia has.

"Seeing how horses required food, water and shelter, combined with the fact that it was harder for elderly people to ride them, Henry scavenged parts from wagons and carriages. With the help of the local blacksmith to create specialized parts, he made a machine that ran on the very thing that made all magic possible. It was this invention that caught the eye of the nobility of Fiore." He then walks over to the wall that has a picture of a teenage boy that looked to be around the age of 16 in front of a building that looks straight out of Rome.

"At the age of 15, Henry Rockwell got sponsored to attend the Royal Acedemy of Engineering in Crocus, where he excelled and eventually graduated as Valedictorian two years later. He was the first non-mage to ever achieve such a feat." All I can do was be in awe. I wish I was that smart in school, to be the absolute best. But I was a master procrastinator, and I had problems motivating myself.

"What's a Valedictorian?" Araña questions.

"It's someone who is top of the class, and usually delivers a graduation speech." I quickly answer.

Victor nods. "You are correct. It was during his time at the academy and the next several years, that he started inventing his best work." He then walks over to a wooden mechanical hand in a glass case. "He was the one who created the first practical prosthetic arm. It was fully functional, and had a surprising range of movement."

Wow, even though it was made of primitive materials, it can probably do things that prosthetics from my old world could only dream of.

"Henry Rockwell invented a lot things to make everyday life easier. Things like the modern lacrima light, battery, and most importantly…" He then walks over to a green, glass like sphere. "The communication lacrima. This allowed for long distance communication, and this was very important because it allowed the King to more effectively administer the country."

"What about the thought projection spell? Didn't they have that?" I question.

He smiles. "Ah, you see, the thought projection spell didn't come along until another 50 years, and it was Rockwell's communication lacrima that actually inspired the spell in the first place." He winks. He starts to explain more about the various inventions Rockwell created that served the common good. Everything from powered wheel chairs to more compact music players, and these inventions does not look that much different from the modern versions I had seen in this world. Victor then brings us upstairs and into a bedroom with a large bed with a lacrima in the center of the headboard.

"This invention in particular was one of his favorites. It is a bed with a lacrima that emitted sleep magic when activated. It was invented for his mother, who had trouble sleeping often."

"Mama has one of those! Whenever she is sick or has trouble sleeping, she uses it. I didn't know this guy invented that!" Araña chirps. "I loved sleeping in her bed because I would always get the best sleep from it."

I didn't even know this existed… I could get so much sleep! No more internal alarm clock waking me up early. No more getting not enough sleep… Actually, if I were to get one, Kagura would most definitely want one, and then she would be even harder to wake in the morning… Well, there goes my hopes…

"Ah, yes, the bed invention was especially popular among the nobility Fiore. The King even had one." He then sighs, a small frown appearing on his face. "Unfortunately, though, it was the last invention before one of the most terrible events of the 5th century, The Great Magic War…" He says in a sad tone as we follow out of the room. He then leads us back downstairs, and down the hall, past the room with the magic four-wheeler. We walk into another open room, but this one is filled with various pictures of soldiers and battlefields. The display cases held various weapons and military equipment. "The Great Magic War was the biggest conflict that Ishgar has ever seen. It was a conflict that was proceeded by decades and decades building up military power by the other countries of Ishgar, Fiore included. Combined with nationalism and various alliances, the continent was a powder keg, ready to be lit."

He points to a map of Ishgar. "And when the King of Joya was assassinated in the country of Stella, it created a power vacuum that Minstrel was more than willing to exploit. Fiore, Caelum, Stella and Bosco were enemies of Minstrel and did not want the already massive country to acquire more land and resources. So, when Minstrel invaded Joya, the four countries formed the 'Quadruplice Alleanza' or the 'Quadruple Alliance' and entered the country to push back the Invading Minstrel." He then points to the countries next Minstrel. "Unfortunately, the countries of Desierto and Midi had an alliance with Minstrel, and came to help with the invasion and combat against the Alliance. Now, war was common in this period of time, and the people of both sides thought this war would be a quick one, but there was one thing that made this war different from the rest."

He walks over to a staff with a spherical orb on top. "This was the first war that fully employed mages in the military. Before, mages were so little in number, that only the nobles and academics knew how use magic. But, the ruling class of many countries saw the military benefits of having mages in their armed forces. So, anyone with even the smallest of magical ability was conscripted and taught how to use magic for war. So, when this conflict broke out, it was finally time to see just how effective magic could be." He then grimaces. "The country of Stella was absolutely devastated, with rural areas being completely destroyed, the people being caught in the crossfire, and the rivers and lakes running red with blood. But, even though the Alliance was losing a tremendous amount of lives, they had one advantage." He now gestures to the staff behind him. "Henry Rockwell invented many things during the war, one of them was this staff that absorbed ethernano at an accelerated rate, and transferred the excess to the user. This either allowed the user to super charge their magic or refill their reserves. So, this allowed the Alliance to slowly push Minstrel and their allies out of Joya. And for a long while, it looked like the war would be quick as everyone hoped, despite the massive amount of lives lost, but that's not what happened."

He then walks over to another map, but this one is extremely detailed and has differently colored lines showing where the fronts of each side was. The Alliance is blue, and Minstrel's forces are red. But there is a third color, which is green, coming from the east. It was the Pergrande Kingdom. But it looks way too big, and nothing like it did today. I then notice that several countries are missing, like Iceberg, Bellum, Sin, and Enca.

"Seeing the chaos in the west, the Pergrande Kingdom saw the opportunity to expand it's empire while the the other nations were fighting each other, so just as the Alliance was going to push the others out of Joya, the Kingdom attacked through it's borders with Bosco, Stella and Desierto. This caught both sides off guard, and they retracted their armies to go push back the invaders. At this point, both sides were running low on mages, and Pergrande had plenty to spare, so they started teaching anyone that was able to bolster their forces." He then walks over to a large, narrow object that I somehow failed to notice when I first walked into the room.

It is a missile. It didn't look as high tech as the ones in my previous world, but that is definitely a missile. My eyes go wide, and I cannot form any words.

"What's that?" Araña asks curiously.

Victor makes a sad sigh. "This is one of Henry Rockwell's most devastating inventions. It is a self-propelled bomb that could be fired and hit targets miles away. It was named a 'missile', and with the now overflowing number of new mages that were recruited, the death count of the war skyrocketed. The deaths were mostly on Pergrande's side. The death count was so bad, that the Kingdom made peace with Minstrel and its allies to focus all its forces on the alliance. This plan failed, and eventually, the people of the northern region of Ishgar got sick dying for a Kingdom that kept feeding them to the meat grinder of war. So, a popular revolution sparked, and after a civil war, the country of Iceberg was formed and declared independence from Pergrande. The newly formed country made peace with the Alliance. This allowed the Alliance to focus its attention on Minstrel, but by that time, Minstrel and its allies were sick of fighting, and the conflict was extremely unpopular. So they negotiated for peace, and the war officially ended after ten long years, and an estimated 15 million combined deaths."

"Why…Why would anyone fight in something like that?" Araña asks, her voice was quivering and she was shaking.

I put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It seems like this world has had its own version of WW1 and it was just as deadly. "Sometimes, people just can't get over their differences, and they fight. War is something Humans have always done and will continue to do, Araña-chan. Maybe one day it will come to an end…" I reassure.

"Yes, that is something I wish could happen. This war was a major event that changed everything." Victor interjects." It brought a lot of bad things, but it also provided the catalyst for the modern Ishgar as we know it. Because of all the mages that were war veterans, Magic guilds started popping up, the revolution of Iceberg inspired more revolutions and the countries of Bellum, Sin and Enca got their independence. Technology advanced… and the members of the Alliance got rich and became prosperous, despite of all the lives they sacrificed…" That last bit of his speech sounds like he was holding back some strong emotions. Probably because this war seemed very pointless. "But, this war also saw the end of Henry Rockwell's drive to invent."

I raise a brow. "Why? Did something happen to him?"

He nodded. "During the first test fire of several of his missiles in live combat, Rockwell went to the front to observe the test. What he saw horrified him. The missiles that were used contained a highly corrosive lacrima powder, which upon inhalation, burned and corroded you from the inside out. So, when they fired the missiles against an army of one hundred thousand, their screams could be heard for miles." He walks over to a picture that depicted a gruesome scene. There was a field with charred and corroded skeletons littering the field.

Araña gasps at the sight.

I feel a wave of intense nausea hit me, and I suddenly start feeling overheated and a putrid smell fills my nostrils. Flashes of fire and death fill my head, and then the image of nothing but charred skeleton piles surrounded by ruins of a previously thriving village. I hear the screams of anguish and fear. I hear my sister's voice telling me to live. A dizzy spell overtakes me and I stumble a bit before forcing myself to calm down. But it wasn't working, and I start breathing heavily, and I fell a bead of sweat run down the side of my face.

"Are you okay, Rubi-nee?" Araña questions with concern.

"Y-Yeah, it's just that picture brings up some bad memories." I say, panting heavily. "I'm fine." I take several deep breaths before the feeling of panic and nausea calm down, and I return to normal.

Araña and Victor eye me for a bit, before Victor eventually continues his lecture. "After witnessing what Fiore was using his inventions for and how many live were lost, his inventor spirit died. He refused to invent again, and lived here for the last fifty years of his life. Dying at the age of 80 years old." He gestures for us to follow and leads us into a room with several book cases and a wooden desk with a closed hardcover book concealed within a glass case. "This is last journal, and because it is made of paper, it is in a box to protect it from degrading over time. So, we cannot read it. And even if we did open the box, there is a genetic lock on it. So only those who are decedents of him can open the journal, and Henry Rockwell never married. So what lay inside will be forever a mystery."

He then wipes his head with his arm. "Phew… Well, that concludes my brief summary on the life of Henry Rockwell. If you want a more detailed account, I recommend taking a look at a book that covers his life, as it would take several hours to explain every little detail. Feel free to look around a bit, and if you want an explanation on a certain item, I'd be happy to explain."

"Okay, thank you," I say, nodding.

XXX

We spent the next hour looking at everything in the Museum. It was amazing how much Henry Rockwell did for Earthland. I knew that he was a visionary, but I didn't realize the extent of his genius until now.

"Well, we have to get going now. If we stay any longer, it will get dark." I say while standing at the door that led outside.

"Well, that's too bad, you two were wonderful guests." He says with a small smile.

"I found all this very interesting, because I'm an arcane engineer myself and Rockwell is someone I looked up to. So learning about his life was a special experiance." I say.

"Oh, so you're aspiring to be a great engineer as well? I wish you the best of luck!" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two dark metal coins, then holds out his hand towards me. "Here are some genuine Fiorian Jewels from the 7th century. It is made of cast iron. Rockwell had so much money from royalties, that his will said to give it away to charity. Unfortunately, the Jewel underwent a major reform and they stopped using cast iron to make coins. So, the Museum has a huge stockpile of these coins, and so I give these away as souvenirs because there are so many." I take the coins from him and give one to Araña.

"Thank you!" We echo each other.

We began walking back to Lavender Town and I start inspecting the heavy iron coin. On one side is the crest of the Fiorian royal family, which is a four pedaled flower that is surrounded by stylized brackets. The other side has the number five with the Jewel symbol. Jewels stopped being coined and turned into paper money about fifty year ago, but from the few coins I have acquired, they were made up of copper, or some other shiny metal I couldn't identify. I suspect the reason they stopped using iron, more specifically cast iron, was because cast iron did not absorb ethernano very well. The low levels of ethernano made it hard to store it in requip spaces, and vaults that used magical storage systems. Of course, it could still be affected by magic, like magnetism magic worked very well. This is because the magic is directly controlling the magnetic fields, not the cast iron. The control of magnetic field allows someone to do all sorts of stuff with metal. I also produce a magnetic field as a side effect of my lightning magic. Lightning naturally produces a strong magnetic field, and my magic is no exception.

So caught up in my thoughts, I just now notice that we have arrived back in town and were walking through the streets. It is early afternoon already, and we didn't have time to waste. I then notice an arm poking out of an alleyway and I breakoff from Araña to investigate.

"What's wrong, Rubi-nee?"

"I see someone." I say as I walk over to the person in the ally. I get a look at the person and my eyes widen. It was the same boy from earlier. "Araña! We got another one!" I shout over my shoulder. I put a finger on his neck to check his pulse, and it is steady, but like the Innkeeper from yesterday, he has a fever and… low magic levels…

Ok, a flu shouldn't be draining magic reserves, in fact, most diseases didn't drain magic at all. And the ones that did, looked nothing like a flu. I thought maybe the Innkeeper was practicing magic and that's why she had low magic levels, but for this boy to also have low magic levels in a town that has mostly non-magic users is very suspicious.

"Such misfortune…" He groans out.

I sigh and pick him up and put him over my shoulder. Thanks to the strength I have acquired over the years, the older boy felt as light as a feather.

"What's wrong, Rubi-nee!" Araña shouts in concern.

I turn around to face her, the unconscious boy groaning away. "He must have collapsed from the flu, but I'm starting to think it's not the flu, or even a sickness…"

Araña's face scrunches up. "Not a flu? What do you mean?"

"I mean, both this boy and the Innkeeper had low magic levels, but there are no sicknesses that drains magic power that are like a flu. The sicknesses that drain magic power are usually not infectious and are easily curable." I explain as I start walking towards the church. Araña walks beside me, confusion still on her face.

"What are you saying, Rubi-nee?" She asks.

"Basically, if my hypothesis is correct, then all the people in the church will have low magic levels. Which means something, or someone, is draining their magic power, causing magic exhaustion, which causes flu like symptoms. If my hunch is correct, our job is not done and we need to find what's draining every one of their magic."

When we got to the church, I checked all of the people that were bedridden, and sure enough, they all had low magic levels.

Someone is going to pay for this.

XXX

* * *

Ok, Rubi keeps being mistaken for a teenager, so it was inevitable that she be asked out, much to her dismay. She is the height of someone who is 3 years older than her, so she is currently the height of Erza. That's why she keeps getting mistaken for a teenager. Anyone who has watched A Certain Magical Index or A Certain Scientific Railgun will recognize the boy who asked her out.

Big Sister!Rubi is fun to write.

I'm not good at describing houses. Basically, the Museum looks like those old German houses, like the ones in Bavaria.

I really wanted to world build in this story, and those who remember back in chapter 7, Rubi mentioned the The Great Magic War. I wanted to expand on it. Those who are history buffs will see some of the parallels between it and WW1. I'm sorry for the massive history lesson, but this was an important event in the history of Ishgar (In this version anyway). Henry Rockwell in this story was centuries ahead of his time. Before you criticize how he could build a missile, this world has magic. Magic can do some really weird things and is very versatile. Also, the missile was equivalent to a German V2 of WW2 when it comes to capability.

Rubi still has some trauma from the raiding of Rosemary, and sometimes certain things will trigger flashbacks. Like burning skeletons in a field of death.

Rubi has finally caught on, and knows something is up. It's time to investigate!


	24. The Last Project

**Ok, I'm sorry for the delay, but college is taking it's toll. Also, it's video game season and there are so many new games I want coming out that I want to play. I will try my best to update this story. Swimming With Mermaids has a wiki now! It's all thanks to RadioPoisoning, who took time and effort out of their day to help set up a wiki(seriously, you rock!). The wiki has pictures of every character, although there aren't any official ones of Rubi yet (I just recolor Pyrrha's eyes), and has info on attacks and what not. It's not 100% complete, but new stuff is being added to it every day.**

 **The link is on my profile.**

 **This chapter is now my longest chapter, at a whopping 8.8k. This will conclude the current arc, which is 19.1k and 64 pages on Microsoft Word. This chapter also puts me over 100k words! I never thought I would get this far! Thank you guys for your continued support! As always, thank you, redscarfninja for beta'ing this chapter.**

* * *

 **The Last Project**

After our discovery, Araña and I went around the town, gathering more data. We went from house to house, testing people's magic level, and found that everyone's was low. We then decided to spend another night and continue our investigation the next day. I was the first to awake, and once again, Araña ended up in my bed. I decided to let her sleep in and left a note saying that I was going to report our findings to the mayor, and I'd be back in an hour. We did a lot of stuff yesterday that left us fairly worn out. I actually woke up at noon, which never happens! I let Araña get her beauty sleep while I deal with the boring stuff… Or so I thought.

"WHAT!?" The mayor angrily slams his fists onto his desk, causing anything that was resting upon it to jump violently. The Mayor of Lavender Town was an extraordinary large man, who completely towered over me. He was bald, save for a small, lock of curly blonde hair sprouting from just above his brow, which is bald. He has a thick handle bar mustache, and a chiseled cleft chin. "Someone dares to threaten MY citizens like THIS!?" He raises a fist in the air and starts shaking it angrily. "They will not get away with THIS, if I, Mayor Armstrong, has anything to say about it!" He then flexes his biceps, his muscles were rippling, and his bare abs were…

Wait a minute… when did he take off his shirt!? And holy crap, how much those this guy lift!? I bet he can bench a bus!

He then looks me in the eyes, his sapphire blue eyes a direct contrast from my ruby red ones. For some reason, he was literally sparkling… Why do I attract all the weirdos?

"Explain to me the situation in detail." His face was serious, but still sparkling.

"Well, I noticed yesterday, and the day before that, the people who I've seen collapse had low magic levels. At first, I thought it was coincidence, but the second time got me suspicious. I checked all the people at the church and they all had one thing in common. They all had low magic levels. They were slowly regaining magic and the people who been there for a day or two were almost at normal levels. Me and my companion went around town checking random people's levels, and they were slowly draining to dangerously low levels." I put a hand up to my chin. "So I thought it was weird that the people inside the church were regaining magic, while the people outside were draining…"

"So everyone had low magic levels, and were draining magic unless they were inside the church?" He raises a brow.

I nod **. "** Well, yeah, except for Father Mendez, who had regular levels of magic…" I say, contemplating the situation.

"Are you saying Mendez is responsible for this!?" He asks aggressively, pounding his desk in the process, causing it to crack a little.

I shake my head **. "** No, I do not think Mendez is responsible. I've seen him relentlessly help who ever needed it. I think it is more likely someone set up a magic draining spell or field, and the church has a ward protecting it, thus protecting whoever is inside of it. That would explain why all the townspeople outside of it are being affected… Although, Mayor, you seem pretty energetic and don't look affected at all…"

"Hmm…" His left pectoral twitches, which causes me to involuntarily look at it in fascination and slight disgust. "I haven't felt any type of drain, but I have seen my citizens become weak and barley able to walk. I think I am unaffected because I have a lot of magic power!" He flexes both his biceps in a strong man pose.

I can feel myself sweat drop, but also raise a brow. "A lot of magic power… Are you a mage, Mayor Armstrong?"

"Haha, why yes, I am!" He proclaims proudly before grabbing the glass paper weight on his desk. It flashes brightly, and what _was_ a spherical orb, is now a figurine that looks _exactly_ like the shirtless Mayor with his arm flexed. "Before I came here and became the Mayor, I was a magic sculptor of unparalleled skill! No one knows how to use sculptor magic like I do!" He boasts before kissing his left bicep. "It must be my unrivaled strength that protects me from this terrible drain! Lifting weights every day has paid off, even if my neighbor is bothered by it..." He trails off, scoffing. "She calls me weird for grunting loudly from the exhilaration of exercise, but look who's laughing now! Maybe she should have joined in on the fun, rather than ruining all of those children's birthday parties with her depressing, disruptive music! Blah blah blah MUSCLE blah blah!"

I start spacing out, and rather than try to listen to the Mayor's boastful speech, I decide to piece together the clues I currently have. The citizens seemed to be the only ones that were being affected, except those who were at the church, and the Mayor. Now that I think about it, I haven't felt any type of drain either, and Araña hadn't mentioned feeling tired as well… Hmm, so that must mean… "I got it!" I exclaim, interrupting the Mayor's speech. He looks at me, with a somewhat disappointed look on his face. I presume he was enjoying his speech. "I figured out why you and I are not affected. I theorize it's because we are mages, and we have much larger stores of magic power, and we absorb ethernano faster than the Magic Drain can take. That's why we don't feel sick. Its effect on us is barley even noticeable."

The Mayor puts his hand on his chin and processes my words. "Hmm, that explanation seems very reasonable and thought out..." He suddenly slams a fist onto his desk, completely breaking it, and I jump back in surprise. "I, Mayor Armstrong, hire you to find this fiend!" He shouts, the splinters from the desk flying everywhere. "I will give you 200,000 Jewels for your services, and I will get in touch with the Magic Council!"

This guy has no chill, whatsoever… Well, at least I get to take down the one responsible for this… I think this might be a little too dangerous for Araña. I need to inform her of the situation. "I accept. I will return shortly. I'm going to inform my partner."

He nods in response. "Yes, it is most wise to not to go alo-" He stops, as he has just now noticed the carnage he has caused, and sighs. "It seems that I have gone a little over board… I'll get this desk replaced by the time you get back. Farewell, Rubina Crimson!" He salutes, and then starts picking up the pieces of his shattered desk.

I nod, and quickly make my way out of the building. Once I was out, I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't know how much longer I could keep my composure. Mayor Armstrong was just too… intense… and a little… eccentric… again, why am I a magnet for weirdos? Anyway, I need to have a talk with Araña about the situation. I know she'll be bummed that she won't be able come with me to fight whoever is responsible for this, but I cannot risk her life like this. Plus, Lana would literally skin me alive and keep my head as a trophy.

I shiver.

Walking up to the Inn, I notice that the door is suspiciously wide open. A bad feeling starts welling up within me, and I start walking faster. I enter the Inn and immediately notice that the place is a mess, with the contents of the room strewn about, as if a tornado came through here. My heartbeat quickens and Immediately rush to our room and find the door completely open. "Araña!" I yell frantically as I blitz into the room, which is also trashed. "Araña!?" I yell once more. I start hyperventilating at the silence that responds to my calls.

Someone took Araña.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I pace back forth in panic. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and vent my anxiety and frustration by punching the wall. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I enhanced my punch and half the wall collapses under the immense force exerted on it. "Fuck…" I raggedly breath out.

Ok, Rubi, you need to calm down. You need stop acting like a headless chicken and look for any signs of where the bastard went. Let's start with who would take Araña… Probably the same person who is responsible for what is happening in this town. Motive for abducting Araña… Maybe they figured out we were onto them? I look around for any type of clue, but I don't spot anything, until my attention is drawn to a few strands of green silk hanging from the door knob. I rush over and grab the suspicious strands. It feels like spider silk. I pump a little magic into the web like substance and it glows a bright neon green.

Yep, definitely Araña's work. I let out a little magic power, which creates a magic field around me. Suddenly, more neon green strands light up, leading all the way down the hallway and out the door. Araña, you deceptive genius! I knew there was a shrewd tactician behind that cheerful personality! I walk to the door and stick my head out and pulse a little bit of magic. Neon green strands light up, and the trail of silk forms a trail down the street.

Bingo!

I start sprinting through the streets, constantly pulsing my magic to reveal the barely visible trail. It eventually leads me the edge of town, and I stop when the trail leads me right to the brick road leading to the museum. Then the implications of what this means hit me in full force, and I come to an angry conclusion.

Victor, you devious, despicable, backstabbing bastard.

A growl escapes me, and I start sparking up from the internal rage building up within my very being. My hands form fist, and they tighten severely. I crack my joints angrily, and waste no time going full speed up the hill. What took ten minutes by walking, took me under a minute going full speed. To a normal person, I probably would have appeared like a crimson flash, racing up the hill.

The door to the museum is wide open, and a quick pulse of my magic showed the neon green trail leading into the building. I go on high alert, and slowly approach building, checking all the windows for any sign life. When I approach the door, I cautiously step inside, looking for any type of traps that may be present. I pulse magic once again, and the silk trail leads me to the room with last journal. This is where the trail ends. Ok, there must be a secret passage somewhere. There has to be, I just have to…

I then notice that the last journal is open, and out of its glass case. Like a moth to a flame, the entire situation becomes forgotten as I am drawn to the book. I start flipping through the book, like an eager child would a picture book, and what I find shocks me. Inside the journal is schematics of robotic like arms and legs. I then see more schematics of various weapon like objects.

I don't like the way this is heading…

I turn another page, and I freeze at what I see. Spanning two pages is the schematics of a dragon like machine. Over the next few pages, there were more detailed pictures of various parts of the machine, like weapon placements, movements of various joints, and the placement of the power source. "What in the world…" I say in confusion and awe. Flipping through even more pages revealed an alternate machine, that looked more human like, and was carrying a lance and shield. "Why is Henry Rockwell building Megazords?" I question out loud. I reach the last page, and there was a thin, green layer that was hard to the touch. I came to the conclusion that it was a lacrima, and activate it.

A holographic figure suddenly appears and I jump back in surprise.

It is a hologram of an elderly man wearing a brown suit. He has snow white hair, and a long beard. "To all my *cough* decedents, I leave you one, final mission… Complete *cough* my final project, and rid the world of the oppression of monarchy, and the aristocracy. To stop… to stop the needless slaughter of innocent people *hack, cough cough* Please, complete the machine that will set the world free of greedy rulers, that will unite humanity under one banner against a common enemy. Not even I, the Great Henry Rockwell, can complete this alone. Time is *cough* against me, and I can tell already the design requires elements that even _I_ can't invent. But, I know in time that everything required will fall into place… Please *cough* bring upon the reckoning, and install the new world order… Under the rule of Dorma Anim." The hologram message ends.

Oh my god… Henry Rockwell went AWOL and is planning on having his decedents continue a death machine… Dorma Anim… Where have I heard that name before… Edolas… Shit, I think the death robot in that arc was called the exact same thing, so that must mean that Rockwell and his decedents are building an Earthland equivalent… Wait. Victor said he never married, and thus not having chil-

I face palm in realization. Victor is the decedent of Henry Rockwell. He didn't tell me because he probably wanted to keep his nefarious deeds a secret. That son of a bitch…

I hear a muffled scream coming from behind a bookshelf that was in front of me, and I remember the reason why I was here. Shit! I totally forgot about Araña! I take one last glance at the journal, and decide to store it in my requip space. No one must know how this machine is built. Who knows what would happen if a government got control of it **?**

I scramble to the bookshelf where the scream came from, and I notice a book that looks suspiciously out of place. Using my knowledge of classic clichés, I pull on the book and the shelf opens to reveal a stone stair case that was lit with lacrima lights. I rush down the spiraling set of stairs until I come to a large underground chamber. The only things that occupied the chamber was a giant object hidden underneath a black cloak, Victor standing at some sort of control panel, and an unconscious Araña strapped to some sort of bed with a black tube that was pulsing.

"Araña!" I rush towards her, only to smash into some type of invisible force field, and I'm sent backwards into the wall. "Ow son of a…" I start rubbing my head, and look up see a shimmering barrier flash out of existence.

"Oh, looks like someone figured it out…" Comes the condescending voice of Victor. He lets out a mad cackle as he walks towards me. "My great-great-great grandfather was truly a genius, wasn't he? Creating a magic barrier system based off lacrima, so that even non-mages like me could protect myself from outside threats. Of course, I never thought my biggest threat would come in the form a red haired little girl…" He has smug smirk on his face that really pisses me off.

I stand up and draw my sword, getting into a combat stance just in case something attacks me. I make a menacing growl, and I feel myself scowl. "Let Araña go **,** you fiend!" I shout, which draws an arrogant chuckle from the jerk behind the invisible barrier.

He shakes his head. "No can do, Rubi-chan. I've spent several weeks siphoning the energy off the residents of Lavender Town for far too long. Dorma Anim just can't seem to absorb ethernano from the air too well. It would have taken several more weeks to reach acceptable levels for startup. Combine poor air absorption rate with that meddling Father Mendez sheltering my power sources with that warded church of his, it would have been forever before my ancestor's dream came to life." He then starts cackling menacingly.

"People aren't just power sources!" A surge of anger explodes and I strike at him with my sword, only for it to bounce off the invisible barrier.

He doesn't even flinch, and is still looking at me a smug smirk. "I wouldn't try to break the barrier; I could always kill your friend right now…" He threatens calmly, and holds up a small remote like device with some buttons on it. "One press of a button, and your friend is fried by overwhelming amounts of raw ethernano…" I grudgingly refrain from making a second swipe. His smirk widens. "Since you and dear Araña-chan arrived, I found a much more… rich source of power." He continues. "I was initially going to ignore you two and let you pass through, but I so happened to overhear you talking to Araña about possibly calling in the council with a hidden lacrima, and I couldn't have you doing that…" He then walks back to his control panel he was standing at earlier. "Things go by so much faster when you have a direct hookup to a plentiful magic source." He makes a small chuckle. "Did you know that most mages, even as ones as young as little Araña-chan over here, can have at least ten times the amount of magic power than a regular civilian like myself? It just so happens she has just enough to complete the charging on Dorma Anim and kick start the Arcane Engine."

"Why are you doing this!? This crazy plan concocted by some senile old man can only lead to disaster!" I shout, before a wave of confusion hits me as I processed all of his words. "If you are a civilian, why weren't you affected by the drain of the machine!?"

"Oh, Rubi-chan, if you paid attention yesterday you would know the answer…" He reaches into his pocket, pulls a yellow container, the same one that contained his allergy medicine he took yesterday. "Inside this container was not allergy medicine, but rather ethernano absorption pills. These prevented me from being sucked dry by my machine." He shakes the container tauntingly before putting it back in his pocket. "As for carrying out the plan…" A crazed look appears on his face. "Henry Rockwell was right about everything. Monarchies, and governments in general divide the people and pit them against each other. Causing war, inequality, greed, and the eventual death of us as a species." He lets out a cackle. "So my ancestor researched a time when humankind was unified, and that was when the mythical dragons were at the top of the food chain, and humanity was united for the sake of survival. So, what's the best way to unite mankind once more? Bring back the threat of the dragons! Unfortunately, dragons have been long dead, Henry Rockwell laid the groundwork for making a new dragon. One that will unite the world in a fight against it. But for that to happen, all the governments of Ishgar must be destroyed!" He breaks out into full blown psychotic laughter.

"You **'** re insane! That involves the deaths of an insane amount of people!" I try to shout reason into the mad man. My magic starts sparking around my body.

An ominous, _mechanical_ , groan fills the air, and a look of glee appears on Victor's face. "Oh! It's finally done, and it looks like your friend here has just barely enough magic to spare! Good for her!" A glowing pair of red eyes light up from under the cloak. "Well, I think I'm going test out Dorma Anim by destroying that annoying little town…" He says as he quickly walks behind the machine.

"You… You bastard!" I start punching the barrier **,** but to no avail.

"It's no use, Rubi-chan!" Comes Victor's voice from a loud speaker. The machine under the cloak sparks to life and starts turning around. This causes the cloak to rip, revealing the machine, which looked like the one from the anime I had seen many years ago. When it's back was fully turned, and the wall started opening up, letting in the sunlight and revealing the forest. "The room is set to explode in one minute, Rubi-chan. So if you value your life, I would leave now…" Is the last that is said before the machine rushes out of the chamber.

My eyes widen. "Shit…" I need to get past this barrier and get Araña! I pump magic to my sword and the blade becomes shrouded in lightning. I then slash at the barrier, but it still holds strong. Ok, this isn't working… He said it was a lacrima based barrier, so it has a certain load limit that overloads the lacrimas. The problem is, I haven't hit its load limit. That means I have to apply an extreme amount of force… I need to go full speed within such a small space.

I quickly jump backwards and extend my arm in front of myself, ready to strike, and then in a split second, I lunge forward, covering the twenty feet between me and the barrier in a less than a second. The tip of my lightning shrouded blade pierces the barrier like a hot knife through butter. I land just a few feet from Araña and I rush over to her and cut her loose.

"Rubi-nee…" She says weakly, her eyes were slightly open.

"Shh, talk later!" I shout, and I carry her bridal style. I need to get the fuck out of here before I'm incinerated! Glowing red lines start appearing on the wall of the chamber and start flashing. "Shit!" I start leaping with magic enhanced speed towards the same exit the machine went through. As I leap out of the chamber, a massive, concussive wave smacks me in the back, and I suddenly find myself, and Araña, flying through the air, ears ringing and feeling my heart beat out of my chest.

I come back to my senses, secure my grip on Araña and then make a smooth landing. The ringing starts to fade and I look behind me to see the hill that museum was built on, completely obliterated and on fire. A massive plume of smoke was rising into the air and was blocking out the sun. But that wasn't important, though. Araña was my main concern. I look back the girl I was carrying and gently set her down on the forest floor. She was still breathing, just barley, and I check her pulse and magic levels. She was very drained and was most likely suffering from magic exhaustion. But luckily, she had enough magic power to shield her a little from the effects of the blast.

"Rubi-nee…" She calls out weakly.

"Shh, it's okay Araña. I'm here…" I comfort her. I need to stop Victor somehow, but I can't leave Araña here… I think I have an idea. "Stay still, Araña, I'm going to try to transfer some magic power to you…" She releases a low moan, which I assume is one of agreement. I close my eyes and concentrate. I have never transferred magic power before, but I needed to this, for Araña. Now is not the time for my magic to act like the stubborn jackass it usually was. I slowly feel the trickle of power flow into Araña, and after minute, I stop.

I open my eyes to see Araña looking much better, and she opens hers fully, staring up at me tiredly. "What, happened, Rubi-nee?"

"I have no time to explain. I need to you stay here for a little bit. If I'm not back in an hour, I need you to run all the way back to Salice. Ok? This is _not_ a debate." I say seriously, looking her straight in the eyes.

She gulps, but nods.

"I'll be back. I promise." I take off at full speed, following the trail of that metal monstrosity. It was quite easy to track actually, considering it left a path of knocked down trees. I eventually arrive at the edge of the forest and burst into the field of indigo plants. I immediately spot the mechanized dragon, and I form a spear of lighting in my hands while running towards it. " **Gungnir!** " I throw the spear while leaping high above the machine. I land in front of beast in time to see the Gungnir explode into a shower of sparks on its back.

It stops almost instantly and I now have the opportunity to see what this thing actually looks like. In the sunlight, it didn't look completely like the machine I remembered from the anime. It looked extremely similar for sure, but it looked more primitive as well. Like it just looks a little bulkier around the back area than I remember, and the armor panels on the shoulders and kneecaps weren't smooth, but rather kind of blocky. I think this is because Edolas was way more advanced in tech…

"Oh? Looks like you survived… Are you really going to try to stop me!?" I then hear mocking laughter through the speakers. "Oh, this is too cute! This marvel of engineering was designed to take out an army of wizards! What do you think you're gonna do!? You have no chance of winning against something hundreds of years in the making!"

He is probably right, but I cannot allow him to slaughter innocent people. I will not allow him to turn Lavender Town into another Rosemary. Not if I can do anything about it. No matter how remote the odds may be… I'm sorry Kagura, Erza-nee, but I'm about to do something extremely stupid. "As long as there is still breath within me, as long as magic still runs through my veins, I will do everything within my power to stop you and your batshit crazy ancestor's plans! That's a guarantee!".

A chuckle permeates the air. "Very well. Your death will be the first step towards revolution…" A barrage of missiles suddenly flies out of its back and heads towards me at incredible speeds. I take a massive leap backwards and they crash into the ground where I had previously stood, creating a symphony of explosions and a tidal wave of pressure that blows my hair back. Fire erupts from the cloud of smoke and suddenly a massive red beam of pure energy bursts through plume.

I leap high into air, just narrowly escaping instant incineration and from my vantage point, I see the metal beast shooting the very beam that almost killed me out of its mouth. Not wasting time, I form several rods in my right hand that were shaped like the stereo typical lightning bolt one would find in cartoons. " **Zeus's Wrath!** " I throw the bolts at the machine and each one split into several more bolts, creating rain of crimson electricity. They then hit the back of the machine, exploding violently, and the smell of ozone fills the air as I land several yards behind it. I turn around to see the machine unharmed.

So, this thing _is_ as tough as it looks.

"Well, I got to admit, Kid, you are quite talented for your age…" The mechanized dragon slowly turns around to face me. "But it will take more than that pitiful excuse for a spell to lay a scratch on Dorm Anim!" A swarm of missiles fly out it's back once more, but this time it was double the amount.

I quickly get into a wide stance and hold both hands out. " **Thunder Wall!** " A massive wall of crimson lighting appears in front of me, the crackling of lightning was almost as loud as the massive swarm of flying bombs coming at me. The wall of electricity catches the swarm and explosions once again take over the world, causing smoke and ash to fill the air. A few stray missile **s** make it through the wall, and I jump once more, but find that some follow me up to the sky. " **Chain Lightning!** " I send the bolt of electricity into the small pack of missiles and the arcs of electricity connect between them, causing them to explode, blocking my view of below with a massive plume of smoke.

Once again, a beam of red energy burst **s** through the cloud, and misses me by inches. The intense heat of it was so much that I had to use magic power to strengthen my body against it. Seeing another opportunity, I pull my lightsaber out of requip space and it springs to life. I get into a stabbing stance and spark electricity to my feet, making me descend towards metal beast at incredible speed. I needed to hit a weak spot, and the neck joints were practically begging to be cut. I ended up landing on the base of the tail, but I waste no time sprinting across the back of machine, and start slashing at the neck My slashes don't do much as they just leave red hot slashes that reveal no marks once cooled down. I then stab the lightsaber into the neck, hoping for greater penetration, but it doesn't cut through the metal like I expected, but rather just heat it up to almost red hot. This catches me by surprise.

What in the hell is this thing made of!?

I'm suddenly hit by what feels like a freight train in my momentary lapse of concentration. I'm sent straight into ground and if it weren't for the passive magic barrier that all mages have, I would have most definitely broken a lot of bones.

It didn't stop it hurting like a bitch though…

I groan in pain, but quickly dodge out of the way of a giant metallic snake. I quickly gain some distance and find out the metallic snake was actually the machine's tail. The tail quickly pulls out of the ground and goes back its original position. "I **'** ve got to say, you are definitely blowing my expectations of you out of the water…" A chuckle then fills the air. "But not as much as Dorma Anim is exceeding all of its expectations! Yeah, there may be some bugs with the missile tracking system, but everything else is flawless! When I'm done with you and Lavender Town, Crocus will stand no chance! Not even the Ten Wizard Saints will be no match!" Mad, hysterical laughter follows his declarations.

Ok, Rubi, while he is bathing in his self-glory, it's time to form a new plan. The machine itself doesn't look very flexible or fast, and that must be why he is sticking with long range engagements because he knows he can't catch me on foot. Its tail is the only thing that flexible and is quite fast… It also hits like a truck, but that's only a problem if it strikes you My lightsaber looked like it was working quite well, but it wasn't big enough, nor powerful enough to get through even the neck, where the armor should be thin. I need to hit it with a strong, concentrated blast of magic…. I think I have just the technique, but it's a huge gamble…

I dust myself off, and spot my lightsaber a few feet away. I hold my hand out and start sparking electricity through my fingers. The hilt wobbles little bit, before flying towards my hand. Catching the hilt was a very satisfying feeling, because I felt like a freaking Jedi.

I love electromagnetism.

"Oh? You ready for round two!? I don't know why you keep going. You will never defeat Dorma Anim! The only reason why I haven't killed you yet, is because I wanted to test what this beautiful machine can do in real combat! And it is glorious!" He cackles, and the machine goes into a wide open stance. "So come on then! Hit me with your best shot! I know you won't be able lay a scratch on me!"

I feel a surge of annoyance flow through me, and I feel my fist clench. I put my lightsaber back into my requip space, and start charging up almost all of my magic power. I feel the massive rush of energy flow throughout my body, and crimson sparks start arcing out of me, incinerating the lavender plants that were unlucky to be touched by the extremely hot sparks. The arcs electricity intensifies, and a literal storm of sparks is running rampant around me, and I could feel my hair stand on end with all the electricity flowing through me. I bring both hands together so that they are just inches apart. I then force all the energy I charged up to flow through my arms and into the space between my hands. A bright, crimson sphere of energy starts forming, and as more and more energy is put into the sphere, I condense it, which makes it even more bright. The sound that all the condensed energy is making is similar to the chidori, but instead of one chidori, it sounds like ten at once, thus making it sound like a high pitched whine rather than a thousand birds chirping.

I finally manage to get all my energy condensed into the sphere, and it was starting to get difficult to control of it. I need this attack to hit. With all this condensed energy, it should melt through that machine. If it doesn't work…

I banish those negative thoughts as I take aim towards the machine, which was still standing there in a wide open stance. I release a calming breath, "You're gonna regret letting me charge this up…" I say under my breath. Let's see that hunk of junk take on this! " **Zap Cannon!** " The energy from the sphere is released in a massive, crimson beam that rockets toward machine at speed almost imperceivable to the human eye. It slams into the machine and the explosion that follows is instantaneous and so intense, that I'm knocked back by the shock wave, and I shield my eyes with my arms.

After the initial blast was over, I uncover my eyes to see the entire area in front of me clouded in a thick, black smoke, and a mushroom cloud was forming. I then feel the intense drain of magic from using that attack, and I stumble, almost falling over completely, but I manage to catch myself. I start feeling a little light headed, but after a few seconds of heavy breathing, I feel little bit better. That last attack drained a crap ton of energy out of me… I almost used enough energy to send me into magic exhaustion… I shouldn't use this attack anymore, because it leaves me wide open for an attack if the tar-

I'm suddenly slammed by what feels like a meteorite and sent spiraling into the air uncontrollably. While in the air, time seems to slow down and I feel an excruciating pain coming from my ribs… The passive magic barrier must have given out… I notice the ground coming closer while spiraling through the air… Well, this is going suck... Massively.

Time speeds up and I land feet first, instantly collapsing, causing my head to slam onto the ground. I let out a gasp as pain explodes all over my body. For a few moments, my world is nothing but pure, unadulterated pain. I'm seeing stars, and my left leg feels numb. The adrenaline kicks in and the initial pain subsides, and my vision clears. I think I might have a concussion…I prop myself up, and try to stand, only to find that my left leg won't move properly. I look down to see it bent at a sickening, unnatural angle.

Oh look… My leg is broken… All I could do is stare at it, not comprehending what just happened… Then the intense, throbbing pain kicks in "AH FUCKING SON OF BITCH!" Oh my god! My leg is fucking broken! The throbbing pain becomes numb, most likely from the endorphins my body is releasing because my leg is _fucking_ broken!

My festival of pain is interrupted by maniacal laughter. I look to the source to find a completely different machine from the one I was facing earlier. Now stood a black, more humanoid looking machine with a lance in one hand and a shield in the other. It was even taller and the tail was sticking out of its back… In fact, it looked like the other machine in the journal… Rubi, you idiot! You completely forgot about Dorma Anim's other form!

"I can't believe you fell for that!" Comes the mocking laughter of Victor. "I forgot to tell you, but no magic works on Dorma Anim! It's all thanks to the magic nullifying metal that makes up its body! Not only that, Dorma Anim is terrible absorbing ethernano from the air, but when a direct beam of highly concentrated magic comes in direct contact with it…" He trails off.

"Son of bitch…" I breath **e** out. I then wince, because it was painful to breath.

"Yes! Now you get it! That last attack, and pretty much all of your attacks, were feeding Dorma Anim, allowing me to activate its second form!" He laughs once more.

I… I… I have just been feeding this stupid machine… All of my attacks were futile from the beginning…

I feel a tears escape my eyes.

The lance on the machine's arm glows purple and it swings at me, creating a glowing purple whip that hits the ground in front of me. The impact sends me flying once more and my back connects with something hard.

I yelp in pain and I cough violently. I notice that the coughs contained blood… I manage to look up to notice that I hit a tree that was in the middle of the field. My breaths were a mix of painful sobs and ragged huffs.

"I've got admit, you've definitely got some serious power, Kid, but your effort was for naught…" The machine starts slowly walking towards me, its footsteps causing to the earth shake.

Is this… is this where I die? I can't die now! I'm not even a teenager yet! I can't die! I just can't!

My painful sobs intensify.

I... I don't what to do… none of my attacks will work on it, and even they did, I don't have enough energy to create another death beam… I need something that doesn't rely on magic to do damage, but the only thing I have is my sword... That's not an option because it will snap like a tooth pick… Goddammit! I don't know what to do!

I'm sorry Kagura… Erza-nee... Maribelle… Celia… Looks like I won't make it out of this one…

Suddenly, an idea sparks through my pain clouded brain I do have something that can cause a lot of damage without being magic based! I just need to summon it…

I hold out my hand and concentrate really hard, and with the last of my normal magic reserves, a coin appears in the palm of my hand. It is the same cast iron coin that I was given the other day. I shakily position the heavy coin on top of my thumb and point it at the machine, more specifically, the chest area where I remember the magic core is located. The machine had stopped several yards away from me, and the lance was glowing purple again.

"Oh? Are you gonna flip a coin on whether or not I'll miss!? Spoiler! I won't!" He laughs once more, before asking in a serious tone. "Any last words, Rubina Crimson?"

For my plan to work, I'm gonna need to launch this sucker at extremely fast speeds. Probably twice as fast as any bullet… I'm gonna have to use the magic energy that sustains my bodily functions to do that… I might die from this, but I'll die regardless if I do it or not, so I have nothing to lose **.**

"Y-Yeah…" I say as I flip the coin in the air. "Heads or Tails?" I pump as much magic power into my arm, producing a plethora of lightning, thus creating a very strong electromagnetic field. As the coin is about to fall past my thumb, I direct all of the lighting, which in turned directed the electromagnetic field towards the machine's chest area. The coin is launched by the intense electromagnetic field, and skyrockets towards the machine at such an intense velocity, that it ignites the atmosphere around it and create a glowing hot streak as it flies straight through the air.

The heavy iron coin hits the chest area with pure kinetic force, and like how an Rocket Propelled Grenade goes through steel plate, the coin blasts right through, leaving a wide, molten hole in its place. The machine then starts stumbling backwards.

I think I might have launched that coin a little too fast… Nah… I feel my conscious slip from my control, and I can't keep my eyes open… Yep, that's the severe magic depletion kicking in…

The last thing I see through my closing eyes was machine stumbling backwards before falling and exploding into flames.

XXX

I regain consciousness to the sound of a heartbeat monitor, and I slowly open my eyes. Blurry vision greats me, and it takes a few blinks for it clear up. The first thing I notice is that I'm in the Mermaid Heel infirmary. The second thing I notice that my leg was propped up and in a solid, white cast, and that my neck was very stiff. The third thing I notice was a head of purple hair resting beside my good leg.

"K-Ka" is all I could get out as my throat was incredibly dry.

Kagura, stirred in her sleep and then looks up, blinking tiredly, before realizing who had called her name. Her eyes widen. "Rubi!" She lunges at me with a full body hug that cause me to groan in pain. The scent of lavender fills my nostrils, and it takes a moment to realize that Kagura's hair was the source of it… I didn't know she used lavender shampoo…

She mumbles something into my shoulder that I can't understand. "W-Wha…" I try to speak properly, but my throat is still a little dry.

Kagura lifts her head from my shoulder and she is completely sobbing. "I thought you were going to die!" She sobs out "Y-You came back, almost… almost dead and broken… I… I…" She loses her ability to talk due to her distress. I could feel that my shoulder was soaked.

"I-I.. I'm s-sorry…" I rasp.

"Y-You're sorry?" She asks incredulously. "You almost died you idiot!" And just like that, her sorrow turns into scolding anger. "Shishou told us not to fight enemies stronger than us! And what is the first thing you do!?"

I flinch a little. "It was… It was going to kill people… I couldn't let… couldn't let it…" I tiredly defend my actions.

Kagura looks conflicted. She knows that I was correct in trying the save people, but she was still upset at the fact I almost died. She eventually calms herself down, deciding it's not worth arguing over whether or not it's okay to let civilians die. She sighs, and a small smile appears on her face. "What am I going to do with you? The one time you go on a job without me, you end up in the hospital…" She then hugs me again, but gentler this time. I try to return the hug, but my limbs are kind of stiff.

She lets go of the hug and gets off the bed. "I'm going to let you rest now. You can tell me the story later…" She walks towards the door and then leaves the room.

I make a sigh of relief. I was alive, and that's all that matters…

…My leg is still broken though…

XXX

I found out later that I was in a coma for two weeks and sustained a concussion, a few cracked ribs, a bruised back, a broken leg and a case of second degree magic exhaustion… Normally, this would take forever on earth to recover from, but since I was in earthland and a mage, I will probably be good as new in about four or five months.

About two weeks after I woke up in Mermaid Heel, the door opens and a man in a rune knight uniform walks in. He was slim, and was an average height. He had black hair that was tied up in the back, and had purple eyes with oval glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He seemed very familiar…

"Ah, hello there. Are you Rubina Crimson of Mermaid Heel?" He asks politely as he walks toward my bed.

I nod. "Yes…" I ask warily. I notice he was holding a white box in his hand

"Ah good." He says as he stops at my bed. "I am Captain Lahar of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit. I came here to ask you about what happened in Lavender Town."

"Um, am I in trouble?" I ask nervously.

He shakes his head. "No, not at all. I just came here to get all the details in order. In fact…" He holds the box that is in his hand, and opens it, revealing a gold, five pointed star with a blue magic council cross in the center of it. "You are receiving the Gold Star, one of the highest honors you can receive, for your bravery and heroics at Lavender Town."

I'm getting an award… I never gotten an award before…. Is this how Patrick Star felt?

He closes the box. "But before I can award this, you must give the details on what happened in lavender town."

I sigh, but I nod my head. I told him everything. How we arrived there, how I caught on to Victor's schemes, and even how I defeated the robot by a desperate, last minute, hail Mary plan to shoot a coin at hypersonic velocities with the energy that sustained my body, which caused me to black out for a couple of weeks. What I didn't tell him was that I had Henry Rockwell's journal in my requip space. I didn't want it to fall into anyone's hands, especially the council's. I don't know when Jellel infiltrated the council, but I don't want journal falling into his possession.

"So you shot a cast iron coin with your magic? I didn't think that was possible, considering the fact that cast iron doesn't really respond well to magic." He inquires.

"I didn't directly affect it with my magic, but instead used my magic to create an electromagnetic field, and then used that field to launch the coin. Thus, my magic didn't directly launch the coin, but rather directed the magnetic field and the coin followed the path of the field at an extreme velocity, thus bypassing the magic nullifying armor, because the coin was going several times the speed of sound, creating a lot of kinetic energy." I explain in detail.

My words looked a little lost on him. I blush, realizing not everyone knows these terms. "I'll just say you used magic generated magnets to launch a coin…"

"Do you know what happened to Victor?" I ask curiously, despite the name leaving a bad taste on my tongue.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" At my curious expression, he explained. "We found charred human remains among the wreckage of the machine…" He trails off, letting me piece together the truth.

I killed him.

I go silent, trying to process this information. I never thought I would kill someone… I don't know how to feel about this… I… I don't feel anything… Is that normal?

"I… don't know how to feel about that information… A small part of me feels horrified that I… uh... took someone's life…" I swallow hard. "But for the most part, I feel nothing… Like I don't care that I took _Victor's_ life… I think it was because it was justified…" I look him straight in the eyes, my concern growing. I didn't know if I was a monster, or if this is normal. "Is this normal… Or am I just a psychopath?"

He looks awkward, like he doesn't know how to deal with this situation, but his features harden. "I believe… I believe you are just fine. That madman was going to kill a lot of people, and acting in _self-defense_ was justified. I think that is why you don't feel much remorse, because he was going to kill _you_ and many _innocent_ people if you didn't stop him." He closes his eyes and sighs, before opening them again. "So do not fret on this issue, as it will only slow you down and inhibit your growth." His reassurance clears any doubt of my morality, and I feel a smile form on my face.

He then turns and starts walking towards the door, before stopping as he was about to turn the handle. "Oh, and one more thing... the council has decided to grant you 1,00,000 Jewels as compensation for cleaning up something that we should have spotted sooner."

His statement causes me to choke, and I can hear him chuckle a little as he walks out of the room.

1,000,000 Jewels! That is enough to pay off my rent and still have enough left for me to do stuff! I just got S-class pay! It's too bad that I can't move from this bed for a while… and I won't be able to move at 100% for a few months…

…I'm bored…

I look to the small table that was beside my bed and notice there was a letter. I guess someone put it there when I was sleeping and didn't notice until now.

I grab the letter and open it up. Inside was a photograph, and I take it out to examine it. The picture was of the residents of Lavender Town, with the Mayor Standing shirtless next to a woman with short red hair that looked extremely creeped out, and had a face of disgust. That must be his neighbor he was talking about, I felt sympathy for my fellow red head… I notice the attractive Innkeeper lady was there with a bright, gorgeous smile and also notice the boy who asked me out, and I blush a little at the memory. I also spotted Father Mendez, who was standing next a blonde teenage girl that was holding his hand. That must be his niece. Above them was a banner that read 'Thank You Rubina Crimson' in bold red letters. But the most significant thing was a statue of a girl holding a sword outstretched, and a fierce expression. It was a statue of me. I never had a monument named after me before…

Is this what is like to be Naruto? Will I get a bridge named after me?

I blush once more, and I feel extremely flattered that the Mayor would do something like that.

…He's still a weirdo, though…

* * *

Ok, before you grumble about her beating a machine that took three dragon slayers to defeat, let me say some things. First: this version of Dorma Anim is more primitive, which Rubi noted, this is because it was built in Earthland, rather than Edolas, so the tech is not advanced when it comes to dragon robots. Two: She got her ass kicked, and only won by a last ditch, hail Mary attempt that almost killed her with magic exhaustion. Three: The coin idea, for those who didn't know where I got that idea, was from "A Certain Scientific Railgun", but instead of launching a lightweight arcade token at mach 3 (which does less damage than a 50. cal bullet), she shot a much heavier cast iron coin at at least mach 7 (which is what a real rail gun can shoot a 10kg projectile at), so it has quite the penetrative power.

Rubi got really messed up in this chapter, and almost died. She wasn't going to face an advanced machine at age 12 and not come out with minor scratches.

For my readers who have seen Full Metal Alchemist, you can definitively tell who the mayor takes after XD. Rubi's idol turned out to be a crazy revolutionary that wanted to cause anarchy. At least she got his book...

Araña is definitely smarter than she lets on, and Victor is just as crazy as his ancestor. It's too bad he played with his opponent and that let Rubi come up with a plan to stop him.

As for Rubi's first kill, I hope I got the reaction realistic. She won't make a habit of killing people, and the reason why she wasn't completely mortified by it was because she had no other choice, and she felt like he deserved to die. If the circumstances were different, she would be having a serious moral crises.

Lahar makes an appearance and Rubi gets recognition from the council! I'll let you figure out the implications of that...

This chapter's fight scene is 2.6k words long. It took forever to write.


	25. One vs One

**I'm alive! I'm so sorry for the long delay, but I've been swamped with essays and exams. I barley had any free time to think of what to write for this chapter and actually sit down and write it. The next chapter will also be delayed, because I have finals projects to work on and I will not have time to write. But I hope this holds you over until around Christmas.**

 **Some of you have been wondering where the link to the Wiki for this story is. I have the link posted on my profile page.**

 **Lastly, over the month hiatus, my Beta-sama, redscarfninja, had a birthday! If you are looking for a really well written story that does not compromise on details and is taking its time to flesh out characters and world build, then I recommend checking out their story "Holes In The Sky". If you are willing to wait, you are guaranteed very high quality writing that is like eye candy.**

* * *

 **One vs. One**

 **July, X781**

"Begin!" Kagura shouts.

It was summer time once again in Fiore, and with that came the blistering heat and the suffocating humidity, courtesy of Lake Sirena. Kagura had the sleeves of her shirt rolled up, her red tie was missing, and some of the buttons of her white collared shirt were undone. She was standing in the field by the guild and was staring at her opponent - or rather, her student.

Risley Law.

As soon as Kagura's words left her mouth, Risley rushes towards her, and a golden trail of light follows her at the base of her feet. Risley's acceleration skyrockets, and she lets out an audible "whoop!" as she speeds towards Kagura, who has her arms crossed, expression calm. Risley jumps and thrusts her foot forwards, but Kagura saw the move coming. She ducks and rolls out of the way, avoiding the human missile with ease. Risley lands clumsily from her failed kick, her ankles wobbling from the sudden collision with the ground, but quickly recovers and rebounds with another blitz towards Kagura with her fists raised.

Kagura raises her own fists and intercepts each strike with punches of her own, their knuckles connecting painfully several times. Risley began smirking despite this, causing Kagura to raise a questioning brow. Risley's smirk only grew wider and then suddenly, her body begins to glow and change. It becomes thinner, taking on an hour glass shape and then without warning, the speed of her punches skyrocket, catching Kagura by surprise. Her eyes widen, and before she could even think another thought, Risley lands a solid left hook squarely on her cheek, knocking her head back a few inches from the force.

Risley grins and jumps back a few feet. "It looks like I finally beat you, Shishou!" she proudly boasts.

Kagura slowly moves her head back to its original position, her hand simultaneously coming up to rub her sore cheek. "I admit, that little stunt you pulled just now surprised me, but one punch does not mean you've won." She cracks her neck, wincing, then raises her hands and tauntingly beckons her over with her fingers. "Let's see how you fair when your opponent fights back..." She rips her sheathed katana out of its scabbard and holds it in front of herself threateningly, which brought out a sudden nervousness in Risley. Kagura smirks at her opponent's sudden lack of confidence, but then Risley squares her shoulders, unwilling to back down from this.

With her thinner body, her speed was many times quicker than before, and thus, her charge towards the other girl was more than twice as fast. But even with her greatly increased speed, it still wasn't enough to get past Kagura's defenses as her punch is quickly blocked by Kagura's sword. It was Kagura's turn to smirk, and she grabs Risley by the wrist. Kagura suddenly glows, and the area around her becomes enveloped in an invisible pressure. Immediately, Risley reverts to her original form and Kagura took the opportunity caused by the shock of the other girl to hit her right in the stomach with the pommel of her hilt, knocking the wind out of her and sends her crashing to the ground.

"Never count your victories so early, Risley. You never know when your enemy is holding back." Kagura says while releasing her magic.

"Y-Yes, *wheeze* Shishou…" Risley manages to get out.

"Though, I have to admit that I never thought of using gravity to alter one's appearance like that. I can definitely see that being useful in the future…" Kagura compliments as she helps the other girl off the ground.

"You really think so?" Risley perks up, and is met with a nod.

"I thought it was impressive too." Another voice chimes in.

Both girls look towards the source, to see Rubina standing a few yards away. Her long red hair was put back into a loose pony tail that curled slightly at the bottom and her bangs were out in front of her face. Covering her shoulders were bronze colored armor and a matching chest piece was covering her white, long sleeved blouse. Her lower half was covered by a long red skirt and she was wearing black leggings and brown shoes. Around her waist was a brown leather scabbard with a sheathed katana. Her most noticeable feature, however, was the lack of broken leg.

"Ah, Rubi-chan, how, uh, long were you watching…" Risley trails off in awkward embarrassment, her cheeks slightly red.

"Long enough to see the one mistake in your strategy…" Rubina starts walking over to the duo with a smirk on her face. "Using gravity magic against Kagura isn't really a smart idea. After all…" She stops in front of Kagura, who was confused as to where Rubina was going with her point. "She is the Gravity-Hime…" Rubina suddenly pinches her cheek.

Kagura slaps the offending hand away from her face, clearly not amused by Rubina's antics. "Do you have anything better to do than to disrespect men in front of my student, Rubi?" Her right eye is twitching from annoyance. Risley starts laughing, but is quickly silenced by a glare from Kagura that promised pain if she continued.

Rubina shrugs. "I was bored, and I remembered that we haven't had a spar in a long while, so I figured that I could annoy you into a fight…" She trails off, smirking.

"Well, if you wanted to annoy me, it's working…" Kagura sighs. "But you will have to wait until I am done teaching my student for today." She turns her head back to Risley. "Ok, Risley, let's try that ag-"

"Shishou, I think I'm done for today…" Risley interjects and points to a forming bruise on her stomach, and has a slight grimace on her face. "I think you might have hit me a little too hard, and…" Her grimace becomes a grin. "I kinda want to see you two fight. I don't think I've seen one of your spars…"

Kagura eyes her student seriously for a minute, before sighing in defeat. "Fine. But I expect extra effort tomorrow…" She locks eyes with Risley. "Is that clear?" She says in a deathly serious voice which causes Risley to sweat in panic.

"Yes, Shishou!" Risley yells out, scrambling far away from the two and then sits down on the grass. She then begins to eagerly watch them, waiting for the fireworks to start.

"What's going on here?" Comes the voice of Araña from behind her.

"Shhh! I just convinced Kagura to fight Rubi and I never actually seen them fight before!" Risley whispers excitedly. "So take a seat and enjoy the show! Shame I don't have popcorn…."

"Oh? Kagura-nee and Rubi-nee are fighting!?" Araña says, matching her excitement as she take **s** a seat next to Risley. "I haven't seen them fight in forever!" She becomes giddy. "I wonder if Rubi will be finally able to tie up the record!"

"Record?" Risley inquires.

Araña grins at the other girl. "Currently, the record stands at 90 wins for Kagura-nee, and 89 wins for Rubi-nee. Rubi-nee has been catching up since they started using magic, but they haven't fought in forever! I wonder what new tricks they got up their sleeve?"

"Well, this just got a whole lot more exciting then. Don't ya agree?" Risley now has a grin that matched the other girl's.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Araña cheers, throwing her arms up in excitement.

Kagura looks to Rubi and sighs. "Well, Rubi, you got your wish. Standard rules?"

Rubina nods. "Yes, Standard Rules. All magic allowed, no cheap shots, and no holding back punches." She then grins and cracks her knuckles. "I can't wait to beat ya into the ground…" Rubina's form becomes surrounded by a bright red aura.

Kagura smirks. "I'd liked to see you try…" A contrasting blue aura suddenly springs to life around her form, and she stares intensely into Rubina's eyes. Without breaking eye contact, she slashes her sheathed sword directly at the other girl's head.

Rubina ducks just as the sword was about to crash into her temple, and immediately launches a high kick that is intercepted by Kagura's forearm. A thunderous clap is created as the two connect, and a visible shock wave races outwards across the grass. Crimson electricity suddenly sparks on Rubina's leg, and Kagura wastes no time disengaging, immediately leaping several feet away as torrent of sparks erupt from Rubina's leg.

"Using the magic already, Rubi?" Kagura inquires as she grips her katana with both hands, and points it towards the redhead.

Rubina lowers her leg and shrugs. "I was just testing your reflexes…" She then draws her sword from its sheathe with one hand. "But if you want a sword fight…" She points the blade out in front her and towards Kagura. "I would be happy to oblige-" She lunges towards Kagura, covering the distance between them in what seems like an instant, creating a vortex behind her that kicks up loose dirt.

Without any time to think, Kagura raises her sword and it clashes with the other girl's. Another shock wave is created as an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Rubina immediately follows up her lunge with a series of blistering strikes that are countered blow for blow, creating sparks each time their swords connect.

Rubina's sword suddenly becomes enshrouded in a crackling storm of electricity as it connects with Kagura's sheathed blade. Immediately, the sheathe becomes charred black, and caught fire. Kagura's eyes widen in surprise, and a white glow enveloped her as an invisible force erupts from her and slams into Rubina, sending her flying a few feet before landing gracefully on her feet.

"You… You Jerk! Was it really necessary to ruin my sheathe like that!?" Kagura shouts angrily as she inspects the ruined sheathe of her sword, which was no longer on fire, but is still smoldering and crumbling into nothing, revealing the blade underneath. Kagura flicks the broken sheathe off, which brakes in half upon hitting the ground, and inspects her blade for any damage, but finds nothing of concern. She sighs in relief, before glaring at the red head across from her. "You're lucky you didn't ruin my blade, Rubi, because you would have definitely felt my wrath!"

Rubina shrugs, a smirk adorning her face. "With that sheathe gone, you can fight seriously now." She rushes once more, sword glowing bright red, arcs of electricity sparking outwards, giving no time for Kagura to retort.

Kagura's sword glows white as she moves her sword into position to block, and just as they are about to connect, Kagura's sword pulses brightly, and Rubina's sword is suddenly deflected backwards. This leaves Rubina wide open for a split second, and in that split second of stunned confusion, Kagura capitalizes on the opportunity and delivers a painful roundhouse kick to the redhead's face.

Rubina quickly recovers from the kick just in time to dodge a punch aimed straight at her solar plexus. She goes to strike at Kagura once more, but once again, her sword is deflected mysteriously just as it is about to connect with Kagura's. Luckily, the same trick didn't work twice, because Rubina performs multiple back flips to dodge Kagura's vicious slash, and puts several feet between them.

Kagura presses her advantage and rushes towards Rubina, her sword glowing a gleaming white as she jumps into the air and delivers a powerful downward strike. Rubina holds her sword with both hands and puts her sword above her head, and their swords clash, sending a shower of stray magic-power outwards. Rubina feels an unusual amount of weight from the strike, and it feels like she just intercepts a speeding semi-truck with her sword. Her arms burn from the enormous amount of weight she is feeling, and her feet dig into the ground. Rubina grits her teeth as she uses all of her strength to repel Kagura's strike, and leaps backwards.

"You like what I did there?" Kagura asks, her voice exuding sarcasm. "I got the idea from you…"

Rubina was panting lightly and her arms are starting to burn from the strain that was put upon them. "Using gravity to repel my attacks and then increasing the weight of your sword to multiply the force of your strikes… I didn't expect you to actually use that against me…" She take **s** a deep breath and then smirks. "Hey Kagura, I think it's time we stop holding back…" Her magical aura suddenly flares to life around her form, engulfing her in a transparent crimson shroud.

"Heh, I was wondering when you were gonna say that…" Her aura then flares in response, engulfing, her form in blue.

The two stare each other down silently, both waiting for the first move and all that could be heard is the sound of the air being displaced by the sheer magic power radiating from the two teens.

Rubina is the first to move as she suddenly steps forward and extends her arm with two fingers pointed forward. In a blink of an eye, arcs of electricity spark along her arm, and a massive bolt of crimson lightning explode from her finger tips.

Kagura acts on pure reflex and raises her sword just in time for the bolt to reach her. Instead of hitting the blade of her sword dead on, the bolt warps around her gravity enhanced blade, and it carries on until it hits the forest behind her, causing a tree to explode into splinters. Unfortunately, Kagura has no time to retaliate as she suddenly finds Rubina above her with a massive hammer constructed out of pure electricity gripped with both of her hands.

" **Mjölnir!** " Rubina shouts as the hammer collides directly with the sword. A bright flash followed by a concussive force is the result, and the ground underneath Kagura's feet cracks before exploding from the immense amount of energy being released into it, and a crater is formed.

Kagura, still standing and muscles screaming, is gritting her teeth as her gravity enhanced sword struggles to repulse Rubina's hammer of electrical death.

Rubina dissolves the hammer unexpectedly, which creates a shower of sparks, catching Kagura off guard. Rubina suddenly appears behind her in what seems like an instant to deliver a brutal kick to the center of her back.

Kagura grunts painfully as she is propelled many feet away, but manages to land in a roll and steadies herself. Rubina is suddenly in her face again and delivers nasty left hook across the face, and then feels a hit to her stomach before she could retaliate, causing her to gasp as the air leaves her lungs. Kagura's magic explodes outwards and her red-haired assailant is once again launched away from her, giving Kagura a moment to recover from the brutal hits she had just endured.

Painting heavily, Kagura sees Rubina dust herself off and then blitz towards her at blistering speeds once more. Kagura pumps magic power into body and goes into Shield Form, barley blocking Rubina's charge. Immediately, Rubina's uses her speed to her advantage and unleashes a furious onslaught of sword strikes mixed with electrically charged punches.

It was purely by Kagura's sword skills that most of what was thrown at her is deflected, but a few strikes manage to pass through her once thought impregnable defensive form, and she was soon starting to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of strikes being thrown at her.

Thankfully for Kagura, Rubina relents with her bombardment and leaps back, and a brief, relieved sigh escapes Kagura, only for her to go on edge as Rubina starts sparking with electrical energy. Rubina then starts sprinting, but oddly, not straight at Kagura, but rather around her. The purple haired teen grew confused as she starts tracking the Rubina with her eyes, and she becomes faster and faster, leaving a line of lighting in her wake. Her eyes then grow wide in realization. "Damn!" She curses under her breath as she hastily reengages her Shield Form.

Rubina saw her get into her form and smirks as she increases her speed to as fast as she could go. Dust starts to pick up and the lightning trail behind Rubina forms a bright glowing ring around Kagura. Her form becomes blurred, and Kagura is relying purely on her senses, which are struggling to keep track of the redhead.

Rubina lunges, her sword out in front, towards Kagura at speeds that no normal human could track, leaving a trail of electricity behind her. Kagura is barely able to get her sword up in time as the two blades clashed in a explosion of sparks. Rubina leaps back into the ring of lighting she had created around Kagura, and then lunges once more from behind, scoring a direct hit.

Kagura yelps in pain and slashes her sword behind her, but was is met with nothing but air. She is then struck repeatedly from all directions, the only thing that her attacker is leaving behind is a line of red, crackling, lightning. For a few moments, her world is pain. If it weren't for the passive magic barrier all mages had, and Rubina buffering her sword with magic so that it wouldn't cut her skin, Kagura would be a bloody mess full of cuts and holes.

' _I **'** ve got to slow her down! I can't take this much longer!_' She thinks desperately as more and more painful hits make their mark. A frantic idea pops into her head, and her magic flares to life once more.

A giant, dark pink magic circle appears above Kagura's head and an intense, crushing pressure assaults the area underneath.

Rubina, who was just about to hit Kagura, stumbles under sudden change of gravity, and lost most of her speed. Kagura capitalizes on this opportunity.

"AHHHH!" She yells as she charges towards her opponent, her body burning and screaming from all the punishment it has endured.

Rubina, who is now wide eyed, is powerless as the intense gravity slows her down to normal speeds. Kagura is immune to her own gravity change, and her speed is much faster and her fist connects with an audible crack across the redhead's face, knocking her painfully to the ground. To prevent anymore shenanigans from the lightning mage, Kagura increases the gravity once more, effectively pinning Rubina to the ground.

Said red head is struggling against her invisible prison, but stops all movement as soon as Kagura's sword is pointed straight at her neck.

"Surre- Surrender!" Kagura pants out, her breath ragged from the amount of magic power she had consumed.

Rubina, who's cheek is starting to turn red from the vicious punch she took, smirks. "I'm not done just yet!" She yells defiantly before pumping all her magic power into her right arm, and grits her teeth as her magically enhanced muscles overcome the oppressive gravity acting upon them. With a sudden swiftness that Kagura thought impossible in this gravity, Rubina grips the sword blade at her throat, and sends a massive amount of electrical power through it.

The result is immediate as the current flows right into Kagura. The purple-nette screams in agony as a massive amount voltage shakes her body violently, and her hair goes wild, it's long strands sticking outward and forming a giant purple afro.

The shock only lasted for a moment, but that's it took for Kagura to release the gravity and collapse to the ground in excruciating pain. Her limbs were twitching and her recently acquired afro was now smoking. "Owww…Was it really necessary to do that so hard, Rubi…?" She groans.

"Heh." Rubina's cheeks flush a little. "I didn't realize how much power I put into that attack because your gravity was so strong…" She says as she extends her arm to Kagura, who shakily accepts.

Kagura is pulled up, and she starts sluggishly dusting herself off while fixing her afrofied hair. "I think I felt my heart burst out of my chest…" She whines as she starts rubbing her chest, which is still hurting immensely. She then sighs. "I concede. Thanks to you, I'm tired, sweaty, in pain, and my clothes are ruined." She deadpans.

Rubina grins. "You almost had me there with the gravity and if I wasn't so much faster than you, then I would never would have landed a strike on you."

Kagura smirks. "Well, it looks like I have been slacking on my speed training…" Her smirk grows bigger. "I think I found a new exercise for Risley and I…" She pauses and her expression becomes confused. "Speaking of Risley, where did she run off to?"

Rubina looks around before spotting said girl, who is sitting next to Araña, slack jawed and wide eyed. Frozen like a stone. Rubina starts snickering, and then lost control as she breaks out into a full-blown belly laugh.

Kagura raises a brow in confusion and turns around, and she too starts giggling.

XXX

 **Later that Night…**

"Did you hear about the attempted invasion from Alvarez?" Rubina asks Kagura as they walks into their dorm.

Kagura shakes her head. "No, I don't know much about countries from the western continent…" Kagura says as she opens her dresser to find her night clothes. "Why did they invade? Or should I say, try to invade?"

Rubina shrugs. "I don't know, maybe conquest, maybe just because they wanted to. But thanks to the Magic Council using their giant magic space laser, we are not going out to war, so I guess we don't have to worry."

"They actually used Etherion!?" Kagura exclaims. "Wow, it must have been serious... I'm glad it is on our side. I don't want to know what it's like to be disintegrated."

"Well, I've read that Alvarez is retreating back to where they came from, so I'm not worried…" Rubina then requipes into her underwear and starts walking towards the bathroom. "Since I won our duel, I get bath first!" She says over shoulder, cocky grin on her face, and she closes the door behind her.

What Rubina failed to notice was the slight reddening of Kagura's cheeks. Said girl rapidly shakes her head. "Damn Risley implanting these perverted thoughts in my head…" She then scowls. "Me having a crush on Rubi? Ridiculous!" She scoffs before the image of Rubi walking into the bathroom in her underwear enters her head, causing her to momentarily blush. She swiftly slaps her cheek. "Stupid, sexy, Rubi!" She then sighs, and becomes bored, her eyes wonder the room aimlessly, before spotting something under the pillow on Rubina's bed. She grew curious, and before she knew it, found herself in conflict on whether to investigate. To respect Rubina's privacy or not…

…

Kagura cannot take the boredom and walks over the other girl's bed and picks up the object underneath the pillow.

In her hand is a black book that has golden letters that read _Fifty Spells of Magic._ Kagura quirks a brow at the title. "I've never seen this book before…" She notices a bookmark and opens the book to page that was marked. Slowly, her eyes scan over the contents of the book, and each passing moment, her eyes become wider and wider, and her face becomes redder and redder.

Kagura snaps the book shut, beat red, and frantically hides the book back under the pillow. She wipes her nose and found a small amount of blood on her finger. "Rubi… where… where did you find this… And why in the heck are you reading such… Filth…"

XXX

Celia was in the back of the library, looking frantically through the bookshelf. "Where is it!? I know I hid it back here somewhere…" She became even more frantic. "It was a first edition! I know I didn't put it anywhere else!"

XXX

Kagura was still red as a tomato. "I didn't even know that could be done with water magic…" Her eyes snap to the bathroom door, the sound of the shower still going strong. Her eyes, almost against her will, drift back to the pillow. Every second she stares at it, the more the desire to read the book grew and grew, until it became completely unbearable. "What else can you do with magic…" Kagura says as she reaches under pillow, and retrieves the book. Immediately, it is opened, and Kagura's eyes scan the it greedily. Kagura becomes so engrossed in the "novel", she doesn't notice the bathroom door open.

"Wow, Kagura, I didn't know you enjoyed such things…" Comes the voice of Rubina.

Kagura yelps in surprise and flings the book on the bed. "I-I certainly do not!" She indignantly yells back in embarrassment, her checks flushed.

Rubina has a teasing look on her face. "My favorite part is where Satomi uses the seduction magic to-"

"RUBI!" Kagura hastily interrupts.

Rubina, grinning brightly, walks towards Kagura and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to world of Adult literature, Kagura!" She exclaims cheerfully.

"That smut is not literature. It's filth, and it was not enjoyable to read at all!" Kagura yells in denial.

"Your face says otherwise…" Rubina refutes.

"T-That doesn't prove anything!" Kagura says in angry embarrassment and throws her hands up in frustration. "Ugh! I'm going to take my bath! I can't deal with you right now!" She rushes towards the bathroom and slams the door shut.

Rubina stares at the door, grinning like a madman. "Yep, she totally liked it…"

XXX

* * *

That was my first "true" third person fight scene. I feel as though it could of been better, but that's the best I could do. I will try to work on my fight choreography, as I feel it is lacking in general.

Rubi has a new outfit, and I have the link to her outfit posted on my profile page.

The manga said that Alvarez tried to invade in X781, so I wanted to at least mention it, even if it was brief. I don't think something like that could of been ignored.

Rubi really is Erza's sister. She just isn't afraid to admit that she reads "adult novels" in front of her friends. Kagura will never admit to liking those sort of things.

I hope someone got my Simpsons reference with the "Stupid, sexy, Rubi!" line.


	26. As Tears Go By

**Ok guys, I am so sorry for the long delay. I wanted to get this out by Christmas, but I got really sick to the point I had to take Antibiotics. So that delayed me significantly.**

 **I like to thank Keampo and RadioPoisoning for helping to beta this chapter while my beta is currently busy. I would like to thank redscarfninja for drawing the first official picture of Rubi and giving me a new cover picture.**

 **And yes, I do know of the recent developments in the Manga, and I already have an explanation thought out.**

* * *

 **As Tears Go By**

 **July, X782**

Erza Scarlet was worried.

Not for herself but, for the first time, her longtime rival - and friend - Mirajane. Last week the unimaginable happened, and because of it the guild would never be the same. Apparently Elfman lost control of his Beast Soul during one of his jobs, which caused him to turn against his siblings, killing one of them in the process. Lisanna… was no longer with the guild.

When they came back they were both broken, physically and mentally. Elfman was sobbing up a river and Mirajane had a broken arm, but it was the expression on her face that concerned Erza the most.

It was blank, devoid of any human emotion.

After she came back she locked herself in her room and didn't come out until the funeral. She tried her best to hide it but when Erza saw her, for the first time in days, her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked like she just ran a marathon. Erza figured she must have cried herself to sleep every day, only sleeping when she had no more tears to cry. For once, Erza felt bad for her rival. The one girl in the entire that could challenge her, that could rile her up, was no longer the same. What once was a rude, irritating, enraging, cocky brat of girl, was now a depressed shell of her former self.

Erza never seen such a change in a person since… Since…

…Jellal…

Erza felt a shiver go up her spine, and her hair stand on end at the mere thought of him. She then took a calming breath and continued her quest, which was finding Mirajane. She had been looking for the girl all day and she still had no luck. She had decided that she had waited long enough and it was now the time to check up on her, and see if she could do anything to help, even if she wasn't the best in these situations.

"Mira, where could you be…." Erza said out loud, her face contemplative. "I've checked her room, the graveyard, the guild…. dammit. Where are you, Mira!?" She growled in frustration. Something wet hit her face and Erza looked up to see a large, dark rain cloud coming in from the south. "I got to find you before the weather turns bad…" Erza started rubbing her temples, her eyes closed, trying to think of where in the world she could be. With each passing moment, the frequency of the falling raindrops became larger, and her temples were becoming raw.

Her eyes snapped open in revelation. _"What if she is somewhere Lisanna liked to go… Somewhere people wouldn't expect her to go in particular… I got it!"_ She thought, and started sprinting towards the forest. Every second she spent sprinting through the forest, the rain intensified, and by the time she got to her destination, Erza was thoroughly drenched by Mother Nature's tears. It was a small clearing with wild grasses grown all over the place and small cliffs in the background. In this clearing was a small, straw hut. Several years ago, Lisanna and Natsu built it with the intention of keeping it secret. Of course, they couldn't keep it secret forever when both Erza and Mirajane decided to follow them. If it weren't for the egg that Happy would soon hatch from being there, it would of most likely been destroyed in the fight Erza and Mirajane almost got into. That, and Lisanna started crying because she thought her little secret place with Natsu was going to be destroyed over a petty fight.

She wasn't completely inaccurate with that assumption, as Erza would admit that she and Mirajane could get a little rough when they had their little skirmishes.

Erza slowly walked up to the abandoned hut. "Mira? Are you in there?" She asked cautiously, and was met with silence. She took a deep breath and looked inside to see Mirajane sitting there, her knees up to her face and her unbroken arm wrapped around them. "Mira…" Erza called again.

"Go away…" came the quiet, muffled voice of Mirajane. The pure dejection in her voice worried Erza gravely.

Erza slowly entered the hut and sat down next to the grief-stricken girl. Erza said nothing, opting to listen to the steady downpour of the rain hitting the top of the hut like a drum. Erza chewed the inside of her cheek nervously, not knowing how to start, and what to say to the girl. "Listen, Mira… I… uh…" She stumbled out awkwardly, and she started inwardly cursing herself for her inability to deal with sensitive situations.

"What part of 'go away' do you not understand, Erza…" Mirajane said as she lifted her face from her knees and looked at her. Her eyes were tired with bags under them, and her hair was completely disheveled. She looked like she lost all hope; like she fell completely into despair.

Erza's heart clenched at the appearance of the once fiery girl that terrorized the guild halls, and it hurt to see the other girl in this state. "I-I…" She stuttered, before calming herself by sheer will power. "I…I'm sorry about what happened." She said with a soft but confident tone.

Mirajane looked towards the entrance of the hut, "Sorry?" She asked numbly. "Why are you sorry about something that was my fault? Why would you be sorry for something you weren't even involved in?" She said as she hid her face in her knees once again. "If I went alone, none of this would have happened. If I wasn't so damn arrogant in my abilities, I wouldn't have let them come in the first place! If I just went alone, Elfman would have never lost control! Lisanna wou-"

"Stop it!" Erza half shouted, interrupting the other girl's self-loathing. "It's not your fault! There is no way you could have known that would happen!" Mirajane didn't move, and was silent. Erza sighed at the girl's lack of reaction, "Look. Blaming yourself for this is destroying you from the inside, Mira."

"Shut up…" Came the muffled reply of Mirajane, her body started shaking slightly.

Erza ignored the other girl's request and continued, "You need to stay strong for both yourself and Elfman! Every day he comes into the guild broken and lost. He feels like he's responsible for his own sister's death and you are not there reassuring him that 'no, it was not your fault!'"

"Shut up!" Mirajane said louder, her voice filled with sorrow, and muffled sobs could be heard.

Once again, Erza ignored her, "Pull yourself together!" She commanded. "The Mirajane I know would never allow herself to fall to such a state! The Mirajane I know would overcome this and start pushing forward, and not let herself be consumed with sorrow! If Lisanna was here, she would not want you to-"

The nerve had been struck.

Mirajane's head snapped towards Erza, her face red with rage, her eyes flooding with tears, fist clenched tightly. "AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW HOW LISANNA FEELS!?" She roared with the intensity of an erupting volcano. "You know nothing!" Her voice venomous, and pointed an accusatory finger straight at Erza, "You know nothing about having family! You know nothing of losing anyone, because You Have No One!" She seethed, angry tears were streaming down her face. "So why don't you just get out and Leave Me Alone!" Mirajane finished bitterly, and was panting heavily from her verbal assault.

Erza recoiled from the vicious barrage of rhetoric, and felt like someone struck her heart with an arrow. She felt something wet on her cheek. She put her hand up to her face and felt tears streaming down.

Mirajane then realized what she said and sat back down, facing away from Erza who was silently crying. She looked over shoulder, her eyes both apologetic and annoyed. "Just go. Leave me alone…" She pleaded tiredly and sank her head back into her knees, and started sobbing quietly.

Erza sat there in silence. The only sounds were the rain outside and the quiet sobs of the girl in front of her. She sniffled, and then wiped the tears off her cheek, "You're wrong." She said quietly, feeling a wave of nervousness overtake her, and she gulped down the rampaging butterflies in her stomach. "I know what it's like to lose someone… A sister…"

Mirajane stopped sobbing, and she turned towards Erza, curiosity in her eyes. "What…?" She croaked out.

Said red-head swallowed hard, "Rubi… Her name was Rubi. She..." Erza held back a sob. "She was my little sister. Before I joined Fairy Tail there was fire at the orphanage we were living at. She didn't make it." She couldn't hold her sobs back anymore and the flood gates opened. "S-she *sob* was only 6 y-years *sob* old."

Now it was Mirajane who was at a loss. She never expected Erza to have such a skeleton in her closet. She moved next to the now crying Erza, her face now expressing concern rather than the anger from before. "Why…why haven't you ever mentioned her?" She asked.

"Because every time I think of her crimson hair, ruby red eyes and bright smile, I break down." Erza sniffled. "She was the only thing that brought me joy before Fairy Tail. She gave me a reason to continue living. To protect her…like a big sister should." Her face fell. "Whenever I saw you with your brother and sister, I-I couldn't help but feel jealous of you. I had nothing while you had family..." Erza's sobbing returned in full force.

Mirajane could only stare, not knowing what to do. She had never seen Erza in such a vulnerable state before. After a few moments, she decided to wing it, and embraced Erza in a hug, causing said girl to freeze from the contact. "Shhh, it's ok. I'm sure Rubi wouldn't want to see you in this state if she were alive, ne?"

"Y-yeah. *hiccup* She wouldn't." Erza returned the hug.

"I think we should get back to the guild. Everyone must be wondering where we are." Mirajane said as she let go of Erza.

"Right." Erza nodded.

Both girls got up and looked outside the hut. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining through the forest, with a rainbow forming in the sky. "Erza?" Mirajane asked, turning her attention away from the outside and back to the girl next to her.

"Hmm?" Erza hummed.

"You're right about Lisanna not wanting me to blame myself. Thank You." She said with a smile, the first one in a long time.

Erza smiled, and nodded. As they started walking back towards the guild a feeling of guilt welled up within her. _"Rubi, I know you're alive out there. Sorry for lying to Mira about you. Nee-chan can't allow anything or anyone linked to me finding you. Not while Jellal is still out there, watching."_ She thought.

XXX

 **Magic Council: Fiore Branch Building**

The sound of footsteps echoed in the long, windowed hallway, and the source were two figures walking next to each other. One was a young man wearing a long, white jacket with black trim and metal buckles, and matching white shoes and pants. The young man had blue hair and on the right side of his face was a tattoo that ran vertical from the bottom of his cheek to the top of his forehead. This was Council Member Siegrain, a magic prodigy that was destined for Wizard Sainthood and the youngest person to ever achieve a seat on the Magic Council. However, the name Siegrain was a façade. His real name was Jellal Fernandes.

The second person, who was walking next to Jellal, was a young woman with dark purple hair styled in the Hime-cut, wearing a white kimono-style blouse with only a left sleeve, and a white skirt that went down to her upper thighs. Wrapped around her waist was a gold sash and around her neck was a dark red collar with a metal buckle. This was Council Member Ultear, the former youngest person to ever achieve membership in the Magic Council and the one who vouched for Jellal.

"Tell me, Siegrain…" Ultear began, tilting her head towards Jellal. "Where are we heading to? I thought we would be heading to your office to 'celebrate' your promotion to Council member."

Jellal let his lips form into a small smirk, "Well, since I'm now a full-fledged member of the Council, I decided to quell a… curiosity I've had for a while now." He said smoothly as they rounded a corner and continued down another hallway with a large metal door at the end of it, and two Rune Knights standing guard on both sides. "I can finally go somewhere that I've been eager to visit for quite a while."

Ultear quirked a brow, "The archives?" She asked, wondering why he was going there. "If you wanted access to the archives you could have just asked me." She pointed out.

Jellal's smirk widened and he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Yes, I know, but what would the fun in that be? It's no fun always getting what you want right away, as it takes away from the satisfaction of earning it the hard way." Jellal then made a dismissive hand gesture. "And besides, it wasn't that urgent that I required access immediately, so I just made it a goal to strive for when I would inevitably make it to the Council, and it served as the perfect little motivator to make the accomplishment that much more satisfying."

Ultear rolled her eyes slightly, "Well, I hope you find the wait worthwhile, Siegrain." She said casually as they arrived at the door. The two rune knights protecting it nodded silently and opened the large metal door, which slowly creaked open, revealing a large, open room full of cabinets and bookshelves, neatly organized into rows and stacked up the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large console with various buttons on it.

Jellal and Ultear entered the room, the large doors closing behind them, and walked up the console. Jellal pushes a green button and a large, blue screen projected itself atop of the console from a glowing lacrima crystal. Underneath the glowing screen another object appeared with various buttons on it. Jellal started pushing these buttons, feeling the slight jolt of magic as his fingers interacted with the projection, until a rectangle appeared on the glowing screen.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Ultear asks, genuinely curious.

Jellal smirked deviously. "It's not what I am looking for but rather _who_ I'm looking for." He looked at Ultear, smirk growing wider. "You see, Erza Scarlet has a sister who I've been looking for for quite a while now, but I've found myself rather busy these past few years gaining power, and lacked the resources to effectively search for her in a time-efficient matter. But now…" He gestures the screen, "I have this, and I should be able to find her in no time at all."

"I'm assuming capturing this girl is essential to your plan?" Ultear asked.

Jellal let out a small chuckle, "Well, she isn't particularly necessary for the plan, but finding her location would prove most beneficial when the time comes to capture Erza. If we have her sister she will have no choice but to cooperate."

Ultear sighed, but had a smirk of her own, "Well, if you think she is important to the plan then I'll leave you to it." She then yawned, "That last meeting was such a bore, and I could really use a nice relaxing soak." She then started walking away, "Good luck with the search." She said over her shoulder as she opened the doors and walked out.

Jellal looked back at the screen and grinned malevolently. "Ok then, let's get to work…" He said as he cracked his knuckles.

2 Hours Later….

Jellal was rubbing his temples in frustration. He never thought it would be this hard to find someone. He figured that since he knew her name, he would be able to find her fairly quickly, but when he searched for any wizards named "Ruby" he got hundreds of results, and none of them looked anything like the sister of Erza Scarlet. They were either too old or too young, and almost none of them had that distinctive red hair that Erza had. It would have been much easier to search up the orphanage records from Rosemary but that proved a dead end because it was such a small village and as such it didn't report its records often to the government, and he couldn't just go there and retrieve them himself for obvious reasons. Jellal growled and slammed a fist on the console, rattling the screen a little. "Dammit, how hard could it be to find a red headed girl with the name Ruby!?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and started to think some more, until after a few minutes an idea popped into his brain.

' _Unless… Erza didn't give me her full name, but rather a nickname instead. Let's get rid of the name Ruby and just search for red heads born between X765 and X770 that have a name starting with 'R'…_ ' He thought as his fingers were furiously typing.

About 50 or so pictures popped onto the screen and Jellal scanned the list until his eyes set upon one. The girl in the photo had red hair that was a very similar shade of red to Erza's, had ruby red eyes and her facial structure resembled Erza's closely. Underneath the photo read "Rubina Crimson".

Jellal grinned maliciously, "Well well, I think my long search is over." He opened the girl's file and found himself rather impressed. A gold star at age twelve and already on the Council's watch list for potential powerful wizards that could one day be Wizard Saints. If the looks didn't already cement that she was Erza's sister, it was her abilities the put the final nail in the coffin to any sort of doubts he had. It seemed like magical talent ran in the family.

"Well Erza, it looks like I found your precious little sister." He started chuckling, "And when the time is right, she will prove most useful." His chuckling turned into maniacal laughter, which filled the room.

In his right eye was a weird symbol that looked like a sideways Z, and it briefly glowed a brilliant purple.

XXX

 **Ruins of Rosemary**

It has been 8 years since the burning of the once vibrant village named Rosemary. Since then the skeleton piles had been removed and properly buried in a mass grave. All the ash had been washed away, revealing the ground once more. Nature had started to reclaim the remnants of the buildings that were once the home of families, with moss and ivy crawling up the fragments of walls, and overgrown grass sprawling all over the place. In a few years, nothing would be left of this place, except for a memory that those who lived there will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Rubina Crimson walked through her former home with feelings of both nostalgia and depression, with her face calm but also somber. Her footsteps were slow and careful, as to not disrespect those who died there. She looked around, remembering how the kids ran through the streets, how the people always smiled and were always kind, how she would run around barefoot with her sister without a care in the world. She looked to her left at a broken wall and remembered that that used to be where the ice cream man would place his cart. She suddenly found herself back in time, when she was younger and still enjoying the bliss of her second childhood.

" _Nee-chan?" A young Rubina said, tugging on her sister's blue dress._

 _Erza looked at her sister, "Yes, Rubi?"_

 _Rubina pointed at a cart with an elderly man with white hair covered by a white cap, and wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a white apron. The man was scooping various flavors of ice cream out of the top of his cart through a hatch, and putting the ice cream into cones to sell to people. "Can we get some!?" She questioned eagerly._

 _Erza had a pained expression, her eyes regretful, "I'm sorry Rubi, but we spent all of our allowance on those strawberry candies yesterday, remember?"_

" _Awww…" Rubina pouted. "I really wanted some though…" She said, disheartened._

" _Maybe we can get some next week, okay?" Erza said, trying to reassure her sister._

" _I guess…" Rubi said, perking up a little._

" _And what seems to be the trouble, Young Ones?" Came an elderly voice._

 _Both girls jumped in surprise, and their heads snapped to the source of the voice. It was the man who was selling ice cream._

" _N-Nothing, Sir." Erza stuttered out. "My sister was just a little disappointed that she can't have any ice cream…" She said nervously. Rubina was hiding behind her, shying away from the man._

 _The man quirked a brow, "Oh? Why is that, dearie? Ice Cream is good for the soul, you know?"_

 _Erza mumbled something quietly._

" _What was that? I can't hear you clearly. These ears are not what they used to be…" The old man questioned._

 _Erza's face flushed and she started to fidget, "We have no money. We live at the orphanage so we only get a monthly allowance…" She said, embarrassment in her voice._

 _The man put a hand up to his chin, "Orphans you say…" He said contemplatively, before snapping his fingers in excitement, "Why, that is still no excuse for not having ice cream!" He exclaimed, before gesturing to his cart, "I'll tell you what, if you help me make my next batch of ice cream then I'll give you some for free. How does that sound?"_

 _Erza perked up and Rubina came out from behind her sister, excitement in her eyes, "Really!?" She said with glee._

 _The old man nodded._

" _Cool!" She exclaimed" Are we gonna use salt to melt ice, creating an endothermic reaction, and lower the temperature of the salt water mixture to freeze the cream!?" She asked quickly._

 _Erza and the old man just stared at her, not knowing what she just said. Rubina blushed, and Erza looked at the old man. "I have no idea where she learns this stuff."_

Rubina shook her head, bringing her out of memory lane, and continued walking through the ruins of the village. She came upon large, nearly empty clearing, with a pile charred wood covered in vegetation being the only thing occupying the space. But Rubina knew what used to be in this gigantic space. It used to be where she lived for the first 6 years of her new life.

It used to be the orphanage.

 _Rubina and Erza were walking towards the orphanage, getting back before curfew started._

" _Nee-chan?" Rubina asked her sister._

" _Hmm?" Erza hummed, looking to Rubina._

" _Do you think we will ever be adopted?" Rubina asked curiously._

 _Erza put on a face of contemplation, before smiling, "Of course we will, Rubi! It's just a matter of time before we have an actual family." She said confidently._

 _Rubi's face suddenly became downtrodden, "But what if they adopt you, but not me? What if we are split apart?" Her eyes started to tear up a little, "What if we never see each other again… I don't want to be alone…"_

 _Erza suddenly hugged the girl, and they stayed that way for several minutes, before she released her. Erza stared straight into Rubina's eyes, "Listen, Rubi. I Will Not Let Us Be Separated. Nee-chan will be there to protect you, always."_

" _Always?" Rubina sniffled._

 _A loving smile graced Erza's face, "Always." She said with finality, and connected her forehead with her sister's. "It's because I love you, Rubi, and I always will, no matter what."_

" _I love you too, Erza-nee…"_

"I can't believe it's been so long…" Came the voice of Kagura from behind her. Rubina snapped out of her memories and turned to the girl walking up to her at a calm pace.

"Yeah." Rubina said slowly, her voice melancholic, "It has."

"If I remember correctly this was the orphanage where you and your sister lived, correct?" Kagura asked.

Rubina nodded, "Yeah. Even though it was one of the biggest buildings in the village, it always seemed kinda small with all the kids that lived there." Her lips formed a small smile, "Although… I heard the previous building use to be really small, so I can't imagine how cramped it use to be. So, I guess it wasn't too bad."

Kagura eyed her for a moment, before gesturing her to follow, "Come, I want to show you something." And she grabbed Rubina's hand, pulling her along. She led Rubina through the ruins before stopping at the remains of what looked to be a two-story house. The only thing that remained was a single, tall wall that was covered with ivy. "This was my house… or what's left of it." Kagura said somberly.

"I've always wondered where you lived." Rubina said as she inspected what was left of the house. "I can tell it was really nice. " She paused, before turning to Kagura, "I don't think you ever told me what your parents did, did you?" Rubina said, curiosity in her voice.

Kagura blinked and started remembering all she could, "Well, I think Papa was some type of doctor, because he always messing with a bunch of herbal recipes and creating remedies for common ailments. Mama, well…" Kagura grew contemplative, "Mama didn't really do much, and opted to stay home and take care of her garden. She always wore pretty, eastern dresses and always made me wear my hair like hers, saying something about a tradition of some sort passed down by her ancestors from the east. She also gave me my ribbon, saying it has been passed on from mother to daughter in my family."

"The East? Is your family from outside of Fiore?" Rubina asked, intrigued.

"No, not really. From what I know, Papa's family had been living in Fiore for many generations. Mama's family had been living in Fiore for a few… I'm a little fuzzy on the details." Kagura scratched her head.

"Huh." Rubina said, interested in the new information about her friend. "I never knew that. I can't believe you never told me this…"

"You never asked." Kagura said simply.

The two teenage girls continued walking through the ruins until they reached a small hill that overlooked the area. Rain clouds were coming in, threatening to snuff out the golden light of the evening sun.

"I still can't believe it's been so long since then. In a few years Rosemary will cease to exist all together, and will just be a forest… Anything else you want to see before we head back? The rain will be coming in soon." Kagura asked the other girl.

Rubina stayed silent, the wind blowing against the trees the only sound that could be heard, before sighing. She held out her hands and black acoustic guitar flashed into existence. She began plucking the strings, tuning it, until she was satisfied. She than began strumming the guitar and began singing.

" _It is the evening of the day_

 _I sit and watch the children play_

 _Smiling faces I can see_

 _But not for me_

 _I sit and watch_

 _As tears go by_

 _My riches can't buy everything_

 _I want to hear the children sing_

 _All I hear is the sound_

 _Of rain falling on the ground_

 _I sit and watch_

 _As tears go by_

 _It is the evening of the day_

 _I sit and watch the children play_

 _Doing things I used to do_

 _They think are new_

 _I sit and watch_

 _As tears go by"_

* * *

I'm sorry for such the depressing chapter. I'm saving the Christmas chapters for when I eventually do the OVAs.

Erza reveals to Mira the one secret that she vowed never to tell. Well, she only told the half-truth anyway. She lied about her being dead so Fairy Tail wouldn't look for Rubi. Unfortunately, Jellal has found Rubi despite Erza's efforts. After Erza's little confession, Erza and Mira will be on better terms now.

The song Rubi sings is "As Tears Go By" by The Rolling Stones.


	27. The Mirror

**Ok guys, I'm sorry for the long wait. University is really taking away all my free time and motivation. But do not fear, I will not abandon this story. It will just take a while to update sometimes. Hopefully in the summer I will be able to write more often.**

 **I like to thank RadioPoisoning for helping me with this chapter and the next few chapters that will be written. I like to thank my beta, redscarfninja for helping me improve my writing and editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **The Mirror**

 **March X783**

Nature was alive once more.

Spring had arrived, and with it came the resurrection of the forest, the return of blue skies, the rebirth of flowery fields, the idle chatter of birds, and the faint buzzing of insects. The grey clouds that once hung in the sky, blocking the warmth of the sun, were gone and the brilliant sphere of light could again breathe life into the world. The children of mother nature could once more flourish and bring out the beauty of the land for all to enjoy.

Deep inside the forest that surrounded Salice, however, was someone who was doing anything but enjoying nature. Dressed in a white tank top and black gym shorts, was a teenage girl with dark purple hair, which was styled into an eastern Hime-cut. She was doing one-handed push-ups, switching arms every so often, and every repetition - up and down and up again - was met with fierce protest from the sinews of her muscles. Sweat had beaded up on her entire body, only to drip down onto the forest floor, and despite the steady pace of her repetitions and the ungodly humidity, Kagura's breathing remained calm and steady as she continued what others would have considered torture. If one looked closely, one could see a faint distortion in the air around her.

She eventually stopped, stood up, and wiped the sweat off her brow. Next to her was a tree; its trunk thick and tall, and leaning up against it was her sword. Kagura picked the sword up, its fabric-wrapped handle handle providing just enough grip grip for her sweaty palms. She got into a wide stance, holding the sword out in front of her, one hand on the handle, the other on the sheathed blade. She started swinging the sword repeatedly, her form never wavering from perfection, a curt shout of "Hy-ya!" with every swing and sweat flicking of her body, only to immediately be forced downward by an invisible force. She then began walking forward, continuing her steady strikes before rotating her body and executing a twirling kick, and as she came out of the spin, slashing her sword diagonally, she started performing various combos involving acrobatic maneuvers. From back flips to full on spins, her posture never faltered, and her slashes always perfect.

Her once calm breathing gave way to light panting, both her arms were thoroughly worked out, and various muscles all over her body were starting to feel the burn from her routine. She stopped and looked up to see the thick canopy of the forest that blocked out the sun, only allowing for thin rays of sunlight to break through and kiss the ground below. The tree above had large, thick branches that looked like they could support a tremendous amount of weight. Kagura, with one, swift leap, flew upward and landed on the branch of the tree next to her. She took a deep breath before she leaped forward toward the next branch. The branch creaked slightly as she landed on it, but she payed it no mind as she continued to leap from branch to branch, performing the occasional flip between jumps.

Occasionally, her body would glow briefly, and the distortions around her body would become more visible and more wild. Each time she glowed, the branches she leapt to like a wild monkey would creek ever louder, and they would bend farther towards the ground, only to snap back into place violently like a whip. Kagura glowed one final time as she was sailed through the air, and as her foot made contact with the next branch, it bent violently and snapped immediately, making a resounding crack that reverberated throughout the forest and sent the girl into free-fall. But with the grace of cat, she rolled mid-air, aligned her feet with the ground and landed in a crouch, and the visible distortions around disappeared in an instant. Kagura was now panting heavily, her clothes drenched in sweat, her hair now disheveled and greasy with bits of leaves sticking out of it.

"Next time *pant* I should definitely *pant* go easy on the *pant* gravity…" She said out loud as she recovered from the intensive several-hour training regime she put herself through. Even though she was gasping for air, her body felt relieved, several hundred pounds lighter and the sudden euphoria of her runner's high dulled the pain of her screaming muscles. She remained in silence, catching her breath, before she stood up straight, wiped the excess sweat off her brow. Taking one last, deep breath, she started her long trek through the woods and back to the dorms, where she had a long, steamy, romantic date with the shower, and she could not wait for the warm water to embrace her thoroughly worked body. Kagura was physically perking up at the thought of it.

A loud, thunderous crack that echoed in the distance brought her out of her shower fantasy, causing her to blink several times before looking looking at the lively forest to find the source of the disturbance. Her head snapped to the left when another resounding crack and the distinct creaking and crackling of a tree falling, and the inevitable crash of it hitting the earth helped her locate exactly where the source of the commotion was. Her inner curiosity swelled within her and Kagura decided that her moment of passion with the shower would have to wait as she promptly switched course towards the racket. As she got closer, the cracks and booms got louder and louder until she finally arrived at the source of the commotion.

The sight that greeted her could only be described as a train wreck of broken trees strewn all over the forest floor. The few trees that had managed to remain upright were missing huge chunks from their trunks, and between them, was a plethora of sunlight shining down from the gaps in the canopy above. They highlighted the vast amount of dust floating through the air, but what really caught her eye was the red headed teen who stood directly below, her bright hair almost luminous under the rays of the sun, which shined down upon her like a spotlight from the heavens.

This figure in God's spotlight was Rubina Crimson, who was wearing a white, form-fitting, short sleeved shirt, and red running shorts. On her arms were leather vambraces that covered her forearms and hands, with the fingers missing. The top of vambraces was covered with bronze colored metal plating that covered the top of her forearms and hands. In the center of both hands was a small red jewel the glimmered in the light. Overall, Kagura found the sight stunning.

Rubi noticed the presence behind her, and turned around to see Kagura staring at her, and the mess she had made. "Oh… Hey, Kagura, how long have you been watching…?" Rubina asked, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

Kagura crossed her arms, her facial expression changing to a deadpan. "Long enough to see all the wanton destruction you've caused to the forest…"

Rubi blushed. "Yeah… about that… I was just testing some things…" Rubi said, her voice laced with mild embarrassment.

Kagura sighed, and her deadpan expression changed into one of curiosity. "Testing some things?" She asked, brow quirked. "Does it have to do anything with that armor on your arms?" She pointed to the vambraces on the other girl's arms.

Rubina nodded, and walked up to Kagura, so that she could properly show off her new toy. "These…" She said as she took one off to show to the girl next to her. "Are what I call 'The Power Gauntlets'. They allow the user to pick up things many times their weight, or punch with a strength far greater than their own." She explained with a showman-esque voice.

Kagura looked at the vambrace in front of her, and took it from Rubina's hands, and started inspecting it. "But, can't you already lift, like, a ton and punch hard enough to break boulders?" Kagura said skeptically as she held the piece of magical armor.

Rubina rolled her eyes. "Well, of course I can lift heavy shit, and punch hard enough to break rocks, but I designed these to allow me to do those things with as little magical power as possible…" She started in a tone of voice that everyone who knew Rubina dubbed 'The Lecture Voice® '. "You see…" Rubi pointed to the red gem in the center of the hand of the vambrace. "This lacrima right here has a complex arcane matrix that magnifies the user's magic input about tenfold, so this allows the user to enhance their strength more efficiently and more cost effectively. This means the wearer can last longer battle do the extra magical power they are saving as a result." She explained. Kagura just stared at Rubina's technical mumbo jumbo. Rubina deadpans. "You put magic in, you get ten times the power out, allowing you to have more magic power for spells…" She summarized bluntly.

"Oh…" Kagura blinked. "How in the heck did you make these, and why haven't these been made sooner by other people?" She asked, a tiny bit of wonder seeping into her voice.

"Heh, well…" Rubina started rubbing her arm nervously.

Noticing her friend's nervousness, Kagura looked to her with suspicion filled eyes. "Rubi… Are you hiding something you shouldn't be?"

"Maybe… Promise you won't tell?" Rubina nervously chuckled.

Kagura stared her in the eyes, and then sighed in exasperation. "Fine…" She relented.

Rubina summoned something from her requip space in a golden flash, and what appeared was an old book. "Remember how I told that Magic Council guy that everything was destroyed after the Lavender Town incident…" Rubina trailed off and Kagura's eye immediately go wide.

"Is that-"

"Yep." Rubina cut her off. "I present to you Henry Rockwell's journal. Filled with unfinished designs that were never completed due to either the tech not being around at the time, or the old bastard going crazy and building a giant death robot that his descendants would eventually finish…"

"Rubi! You shouldn't have that! That thing is dangerous!" Kagura shouted.

Rubina winced and put her hands up in defense. "Hey, calm down, I'm only using the knowledge in it for innovation." She said defensively.

Kagura took a deep breath, calmed down a little, but was still greatly concerned. "Why didn't you give it to the magic council? I'm pretty sure they would have better use for it than you." Kagura argued.

Rubina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes I could of, but tell me this Kagura, what would the magic council do with the blue prints of an advanced arcane mech?" She asked the other girl.

Kagura thought about it for a moment. "Use it to take down dark guilds?" She questioned.

Rubina sighed. "Yes, they could use it that way, but they could also use it crack down on legal, but trouble making guilds, or even use it for war." She brought the book up to her chest. "I don't want to hand this over any organization with that much power, because it provides a high risk for abuse and careless destruction. Henry Rockwell's inventions were used for war with disastrous results. I will not let something like this be used for that purpose ever."

Kagura was impressed by her friends insightful reasoning, but one thing still bugged her about the journal. "If the book is so dangerous, why not destroy it?"

Rubina scoffed. "This book may have the blue prints for the deadliest killing machine known to man, but…" She said, putting emphasis on 'but'. "The major components that make up of the machine are revolutionary. The various formulas for lacrima construction are unheard of, even hundreds of years after his death. Heck, there were still some incomplete ones that I managed to solve and that's how I made my power gauntlets. What I am doing is re-purposing the knowledge in this book to benefit society!" She exclaimed passionately.

"Benefit Society? You plan on selling those?" Kagura asked.

Rubina smirked. "Not these in particular…" She shook her head lightly. "But I am working on something that I plan on selling in the future that can potentially save lives…" She said mysteriously. "And no, I won't tell you until I have it just right." She said, interrupting Kagura, who was just about to ask.

Kagura looked a little bummed at not being told the other girl's secret, but nodded, and gave back the piece of armor to Rubina, and then looked around the destroyed patch of forest. "Did you have to cause such destruction to the forest? You know how mad Lana will be if she finds out you did this."

"Hey, I need to test these babies somewhere, and this was the perfect spot…" Rubi then noticed, finally, that Kagura is sweaty all over, and she looked like a mess. "Were you just training?" She asked curiously.

Kagura smirked. "Took you long enough to notice. Why yes, I was just training for the S-class exams next year, as should you be." She pointed a finger at the other girl.

"Oh yeah, we are taking that next year…" Rubina said casually, before she started explaining herself. "Well I usually do train, but I was taking a day off to relax my body and test out my gauntlets…" She trailed off, before her expression became one of mock hurt. "…You could have invited me you know…" She fake whined.

Kagura closed her eyes in exasperation at her friends acting, and opened them again. "Ok, tomorrow morning we can start doing gravity training, deal?"

"Deal." Rubi then pinched her nose. "Now let's get out of here, it's muggy and you are kinda smelling up the place…" She teased, which earned her a playful hit on the arm from Kagura. Rubi then started walking back towards the dorms, with Kagura following behind.

While she followed her friend, Kagura couldn't help but stare. At age 15, puberty had transformed the once small girl into a 5 foot 10 and still growing amazon that looked older than she actually was. Womanly curves were definitely apparent and her body was forming an hourglass figure while also getting more voluptuous with every passing year. She kept her long, wavy hair into a braid that extended down to her tailbone, and when the sunlight hit her crimson red hair, it glowed vibrantly and popped out against the greens and browns of the forest. But what got Kagura really staring was how Rubina's choice of form fitting clothing showed off her curves in great detail, and made them too irresistible not to stare at, especially the lower parts of her body. So distracted by her best friend's, _*cough* crush's *cough*,_ behind, Kagura didn't notice the tree root jutting up from the ground, and her foot snagged it and she promptly fell flat on her face, hitting the forest floor with a loud thud. "Oww…" She whined.

Rubina turned around and saw her friend with her face on the ground. "Are you okay!?" She asked as she rushed over to help the fallen teen.

Kagura, face red, rubbed her nose. "Y-Yeah, I wasn't paying attention…" She said with a pain laced voice as she was helped up by Rubina. "I guess my training tired me out more than I thought…" She lied through her teeth, to embarrassed to tell what really happened.

Rubina let out a laugh. "Well as long as you're okay, let's get out of here before you trip on a ladybug…" She said with a grin.

Kagura huffed. "Yeah, you wish. I would never live that down." Kagura said with a small smirk, before she started once again towards the dorms. She looked over her shoulder. "I have date with the shower I must be getting to."

Rubina followed her. "Hey, at noon, I am having lunch at the lake with Araña and Risley, would you like to join us?" She asked.

As if on que, Kagura's stomach growled, and said girl blushed. "Yeah, that sounds nice…"

Rubina smiled. "Great! I will be at the library until then. Got to do some more research on lacrima matrices."

Kagura rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Ok, see you in a bit, Rubi."

They arrived at the edge of the forest and then went their separate ways, Kagura to the dorm, Rubina to the guild hall.

XXX

 **Rubina POV**

The guild library, while small, was quite diverse in the range of subjects it held. Of course, it has had a growth in the arcane engineering department, thanks to me requesting more every time I ran out of new material. To be honest though, I didn't really need them at this point, except for reference. In the case of Rockwell's journal, that was a goldmine of inspiration. Yes, there were things in there that have been released to the public already, but what hasn't been released are what interest me the most. I thought I'd read everything there is to know about programming lacrimas, but then I read his journal, and it revealed his entire thought process to me and how ingenious he truly was. After I combined his way of thinking with the more modern ways, I was able to create the power amplifying crystal in my new gauntlets... vambraces… Or whatever they were, that I totally did not steal the look from Zelda games… I am not a crook.

The current crystals I had in my gauntlets were good. In fact, very good. So good, that I can proudly say it was perhaps one the best you can find in Ishgar, and thanks to the journal, I was able to make them small and very efficient. But I needed to figure out how to infuse programmed lacrima with articles of clothing, and what I currently had was not enough. So, it was time to think and innovate, and after thirty minutes of pulling out books, all that I achieved was tall book stacks, empty shelves, and a headache.

Such is the life of an engineer trying to revolutionize the world.

"Ugh…" I say as I rub my temples to ease my headache. "There has to be something else in here that I haven't seen." I scan the room, the entire shelf that held all the engineering books were cleared by yours truly. There were also various books from other shelves, like math books for example, which I never thought I would ever check out willingly years ago… It's a sad day when you read entire calculus books out of necessity and not be in University. Eventually I spot the oldest, and the smallest, bookcase in the library. It was about 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide, made of oak that was stained a dark brown with ornate, carved legs. It also had a thick layer of dust on top of it. I never really use any the books in that shelf, mainly because it contained old children stories, history books, and geography books. When I was younger, being the history nut that I was, did read some of the old history books, but I haven't touched any of those books in years…

You know what? I could use a break, and I could at least spend the last 20 minutes reading something interesting.

I walk over the abandoned shelf and start inspecting the books it contained. My eyes go to thickest book on the bottom shelf, which was about 3 inches thick, and read in golden letters…

"Fiabe Per Bambini" I read aloud. "Huh, I never read this one before…" I reach and pull out the hefty book. I open it, but immediately realize I could not read the thick black letters on the old, yellowed pages. This was because of two reasons: One, the font the book was written in was too ornate, which made identifying certain letters hard, and two, it was written in Italian, otherwise known in this world as Fiorian, which was language that hasn't been used in centuries. This was due to a king from the western tip of Minstrel going all William the Conqueror on Fiore and usurping the aristocracy, establishing English, or Minstralian as it was called, and forcing it to be the language of the people. By the time of the Great Magic War, Fiorian was only spoken by small rural pockets in eastern Fiore that were as far away as possible from the capital, Crocus. Nowadays the language isn't spoken at all, except maybe by a select few historians.

It's sad, really. I always thought Italian was the sexiest of the romance languages...

I close the book, and as I'm about to put it back, I notice something peculiar about the spot where the book used to lay. There was a gap that ran straight from the back on the case and met perpendicular with another gap that ran under other books. This was the tell-tale sign of a hidden compartment, and I decide to investigate by removing all the books on the level. My suspicions were confirmed when I lift the panel, revealing something unexpected. What lay in the hidden compartment is a hand mirror. I grab it and take it out for inspection. It was golden, with ornate etchings decorating the handle and the frame. On the back, was an etched clock with roman numerals and in the center of the clock was an hourglass instead of the three hands.

I let out an impressed whistle. "This looks really expensive… I wonder who left this in there…" I wonder out loud, and I inspect the mirror some more. There is a faint, magical signature emitting from it. It is incredibly small, but feels… dormant. I dare not try to activate it, because I'm not stupid enough intentionally activate unknown magical artifacts. So, I decide to put it my requip space until I can get it looked at.

I then look at the clock in the library, and realize that lunch at the lake is in ten minutes. "Well, I think it's time I start cleaning up…" I sigh then start cleaning up the strewn about books. Rule number 1 of the library: clean up your mess and return all the books to the rightful location. If you failed this rule, you would get a stern talking to by Lana, and that was something you didn't want, as it made you feel like being scolded by your mother. Not pleasant…

After cleaning up, I make my way out to the lake to see Risley, Araña and Kagura sitting on a blue blanket with an open picnic basket full of sandwiches. Quite the picturesque scene straight out of movie… Erza-nee would be so jealous.

"We were beginning to think you wouldn't show, Rubi-nee **!"** Araña exclaims excitedly as she waves at me.

Risley has a mischievous smirk on her face. "Yeah, Rubi, where have you been? Your girl cave doing scandalous things?" She asks slyly.

At her innuendo, I quirk a brow, and roll my eyes. "Yeah, that's what I do. Sit in my room and read smut all day…" I deadpan. I only read when I'm not doing my work… Don't judge me! There is no internet, so going the way of Kakashi is the best option. Plus, I can get away with it, if my past experiences in my other life of catching middle-aged women reading Fifty Shades of Grey in public is anything to go by.

Kagura, who was wearing a white dress that went down to her upper thigh and had a red bow wrapped around waist, groans loudly out at our immature banter. "Can you two not talk about such filth so we can enjoy this wonderful spring picnic?" She asks in exasperation.

I sit down, crossing my legs on the soft blanket and lean back, propping myself up with my arm. "Oh don't act all high and mighty, Kagura, I seem to recall catching you reading one of those books with rapt attention a while ago…" I say smoothly, a wide grin on my face.

Kagura face lights up red. "I do not enjoy that… that filth!" She yells defensively.

I snort and laugh, and Risley joins me.

"Why do my friends have to be so perverted" Araña says while shaking her head in disapproval.

Kagura turns her head to the green haired girl. "Araña, don't believe Rubi, all she does is speak lies, trying to ruin my reputation." Kagura says like she is a lawyer in a court room, defending her client, which in this case was her reputation.

Araña looks unconvinced. "At least Rubi-nee is honest about it, but you, Kagura-nee." She points straight at said girl. "Are a closet pervert!" She declares loudly, grinning up a storm.

Kagura lurches over, as if metaphorical stakes in the shape of the word "Pervert" were driven into her back. "Closet Pervert…" She whispers despairingly, her soul crushed completely by Araña's words.

"Don't worry Kagura, the pervert club comes with many benefits… including dental." I laugh.

Kagura recovers from her despair. "Can we please talk about something other than filthy reading habits?" She pleads desperately.

"Ok, ok, we were just having fun Kagura, no need to get upset." Risley says.

"Yes, just some good all fun between friends." I agree.

"So, Rubi-nee, Kagura-nee…" Araña says, starting a new topic abruptly. "I heard you guys are training for the S-class exams next year, is that true?"

Kagura and I nod. "We are indeed training for said exam." I answer.

Araña gets stars in her eyes. "Wow…" She says, awestruck. "You guys are like the youngest in guild history to even think of attempting it. Only Maribelle-san has ever passed the test because of how hard it is…"

"Do you have any idea what the exam is like, Araña?" Kagura inquires.

All three of us lean towards the girl, wondering what she knows, but we were met with a head shake. "Nope, Mom never told me what the test involved, only that it takes place on the island. The last challenger of the test was Maribelle-san, and she turned S-class when I was real young, before you guys came to the guild… Sorry." She says apologetically.

"That's okay, I think the surprise will be more fun." I say, and Kagura nods in agreement, before a curious look takes over her face.

"By the way, Rubi, I don't mean to switch subjects, but…" Kagura starts, "did you find anything useful for your project in the library?" She asks, genuinely curious.

The others look at me in interest as well, and I shake my head. "No, nothing particularly helpful… but…" I say as I remember the strange mirror I had found. "I was looking at that old book case, and I found this hidden compartment that had something… unexpected." I say as I hold out my hand and the ornate gold mirror appears in my hand.

Everyone is mesmerized by the mirror, which gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and all they could do is look at the beautiful object that lay on my hand. Then, something strange starts happening. I feel the dormant magic power spike suddenly, and the ornate etchings glows a brilliant blue. I drop the mirror in surprise, and the air shifts violently around us. The mirror's reflective surface glows blue, and a brilliant beam of energy shoots upwards and expands into a bright blue disk. The disk's surface looks like a liquid, and it ripples similarly to how water would if someone threw a stone into it. To be honest, it looks like a Stargate. All of the sudden, I feel an intense pulling sensation, and the portal starts sucking in air like a vacuum, also pulling me as well. I try grabbing something, but all there was to grab was grass and a blanket, and the portal sucks me in face first. I find myself moving rapidly through what could only be described as a water slide that glowed with bright blue energy, and twist and turned like a snake.

What the hell!? Did I really get sucked into a wormhole!? This just like Stargate! My life is seriously becoming weirder every day!

I feel my body mass being flung around like on roller coaster, but instead of going a safe 80 mph, I feel like I'm going a 1000 mph. If I weren't used to extreme speeds, and wasn't a mage, I would be passing out from the intense G's I was being subjected to. The tunnel suddenly straightens out, and I see light at the end of the tunnel. As it got closer, an image of a forest manifests itself, and I brace myself for impact as I'm launched through the portal and I find myself hitting the ground with a thud. I quickly get to my feet and I look back at the portal, before I can think about what the hell just happened, the other's come flying through the portal, their screaming filling the air, and I swiftly dodge them as they land in a dog pile. The mirror is the last object to come through, and I catch it before it hits the ground, and I see the portal disappear in an instant.

Groaning comes from the dog-pile next to me. "Is everyone all right!?" I ask in concern. Araña, who was on top, rolls off, followed by Kagura, leaving Risley splayed out on the ground.

"Oww…" Risley groans in pain.

"I feeling a little disorientated, but I think I'm good." Is Kagura's reply.

"Me too." Araña says.

I sigh in relief, and I look at around at our surroundings. To our front and sides is a thick forest, and to our rear is a lake, that looked very similar to the one we were just at. It even had a center island as well. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"Where are we?" Araña asks, confusion in her voice.

"I don't know…" I reply.

* * *

Ok, the next arc begins! I am excited to write the rest of it, as I have it mostly planned out on paper. I will try to find the time to write it, but I will be bust until the April due to University.

I hope the last part with the portal wasn't too confusing. I find it hard to describe wormholes. For those who have seen Stargate SG-1, the portal they went through looks exactly the same as the wormhole in that show.

Thank you, RadioPoisoning for helping me with the Italian.


	28. Seicentotrenta

**Ok, Guys, I am on break for the summer, so I will have more time to work on the story, so updates will be a little bit faster. I might get job though, so so I won't have 100% free time, but I won't be worrying about an exam or a paper to prepare for. I'm really excited for this arc, because it's building off something that was mentioned in the early chapters. Don't you love it when you can expand on something that you never expected to expand on? I would like to thank my beta, redscarfninja for her efforts in beta'ing this chapter. If you want to read something that is written like a professional novel, with meticulous attention to detail, then I recommend checking out their story "Holes In The Sky".**

* * *

 **Seicentotrenta**

 **Unknown** **Location**

"Ok..." I say as I look around at the surrounding forest, its appearance foreign yet familiar at the same time. The others are also looking around, trying to figure out where the hell we are. "We need to find the nearest settlement." I proclaim, and the others nod in agreement. I put the mirror in my Requip space, and lead the way through the forest, walking the opposite direction of the lake. We didn't walk long before we come across a village only a minute or two later.

The village is small - about the size of Rosemary, with small to medium wooden houses mixed with others that were made of stone. Almost all of them have thatched roofs, but some of the bigger ones have more modern looking ones. The largest building by far is a church that looms over the other buildings; a church that looks eerily similar to the one in Salice. I look to Kagura and she nods her head, letting me know that she sees it too. The village also has people walking through the streets made of dirt, and a lot of them are pulling farm animals around via rope around their necks. These villagers are odd, because I don't know if my eyes are deceiving me or not, but they are wearing very old fashioned clothes. Like, really _old_ fashioned clothes. The style of these clothes is from at least 100 years ago. The women are wearing white long sleeved shirts that are tucked into long skirts that went almost to the ground, and are wearing bonnets on their heads. Most of the men are either wearing a some form of jacket, varying between brown and black, or are just wearing dirt stained shirts and hats.

Where the hell are we? Somewhere stuck in the past!? It almost looks like a freaking renaissance festival.

"Uh, guys, do you know where the heck we are?" Risley asks, vocalizing what we are all thinking.

We remain silent.

"I'll take that as a no…" Risley says awkwardly.

"Well, I think we should go check it out and find out where we are, right?" Araña suggests timidly, unsure what to do in this situation.

"Yes, we should." Kagura says, her voice a mixture between serious and curious.

We make our way toward the village, and as we are walking through it, people are giving us curious looks, like we are the strangest things in the world. It feels like there is a weight on my back, because of all the eyes on me and my friends. We arrive at what I assume is the village market, due to all the stalls full of produce, freshly butchered meats, and lots of people walking around, sampling the products. The air is filled with the sounds of farms animals, the clopping of horses, and the idle chatter of conversation. I then decide it's time to ask around and find out where we are, and I search around with my eyes for the nearest stand, which in this case, is a stall selling various vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, beats and many more. The man operating the stand is wearing a green shirt with its sleeves rolled up and a dark, beige apron over his shirt. The man looks to be in his late forties, with dark black hair with sideburns tipped with a little bit of grey. He has a thick mustache and his skin has an olive complexion.

As we walk up to him, he gives us strange looks, like the rest of the town has been giving us. I've haven't felt so socially awkward since that one time Risley drew on my face with marker and I walked around town all day being stared and laughed at, much to my confusion. When I found out, Risley got a first-hand lesson in why you don't mess around with electricity. She was shocked so hard, that she was jittery for days.

I stop in front of his stall. "Excuse me, Sir, but me and my friends have been traveling around, and we strayed off the beaten path and seem to have gotten lost in the forest. Would you mind telling us where we are?"

The man eyes us, before nodding. "Ah, yes, Signorina…" He starts in a heavy Fiorian accent, which is the Eathland equivalent of Italian. I didn't know that people in this day and age still had it, but god damn, it was sexy! His voice is like velvet, and so masculine. "…You are in the Village of Salice, just northeast of Hargeon. If you take that road over there, it will lead you straight there." He says while looking away, pointing to the road he mentioned.

But I'm paying attention, because of the sheer shock of what he just said. We can't be in Salice! This place was backwater and stuck in the 7th century! Salice had 40,000 people and paved roads! Unless…

"But we can't be in Sal-mmmpppffff!" Araña blurts out, but I quickly throw my hand over her mouth, muffling her.

"Sorry, about that…" I say with an award laugh, and Araña gives me an annoyed look . "My friend here doesn't have much manners *awkward laugh* Sorry for that." I clear my throat and regain my composure. I can feel an annoyed grumble from Araña through my hand. I look to her and give her the 'Be quiet and let me talk' stare. I look to the others, who have similar looks of shock on their faces, but they quickly acknowledge my silent message. I look back to the man, who's expression is a mixture of confusion and curiosity. I feel myself heat up in embarrassment. I hate being awkward in front of strangers.

"Tell me, signorinas, are you from Crocus?" He inquires. I raise an eyebrow at his question and he begins to explain further. "You speak similar to a pair of Crocian merchants we had a few months ago, and your fashion sense is quite… unique… Those Crocians have always had such crazy fashion senses…"

Ok, I can play this off. I put a small smile on my face. "Are we that obvious, mister?" I say with my most casual voice, and tilt my head to look genuinely confused on how he knew. Grade A acting right here. Get me an Oscar.

"Si, Signorina, your Crocian accent is very apparent. And if I may ask, why are the four of you so far away from home?" He questions.

"We were privileged enough to be taught magic, and we are exploring the world. Crocus is a bit… stuffy. The air out here is so much cleaner, and you don't have to worry about constantly bumping into people all the time." I respond with the first explanation that came to mind.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're wizards!?" He exclaims. "You don't see much wizards around here, especially female ones." He says with a skeptical expression.

I shrug and hold up my finger, making it spark for a quick second with electricity. It was only for a moment, as I didn't want to cause a scene, but it was enough to prove my claims. "Is this enough proof, mister?" I say with a small smirk.

The man is shocked, then a huge smile overtakes his face. "Well, I'll be, you're actually wizards. You must have had some good connections to learn magic!" He laughs. "Well, I wish you luck on your travels." He says, his voice joyful. "Buona giornata!"

"Buona giornata!" I imitate, probably butchering the pronunciation. I look to the others and signal them to follow me as I start walking to a find a place where we can talk in private. I look back and see that Risley and Araña are looking at me with great confusion, while Kagura is looking at me in suspicion. I lead my friends to a more calm, and quiet part of town, and face them, ready to explain my theory on what I think happened.

"So, Rubi, I suspect you might know what is going on here?" Kagura questions seriously. Risley and Araña look to me for confirmation as well.

I scratch the back of my head nervously. "Yeah… I think I have an idea on what happened, but well, it's kinda…."

Kagura quirks a brow. "Kind of what?" She inquires.

"Well, it's kind of… crazy…" I say hesitantly, and Kagura has a look of mild of confusion.

"More crazy then getting sucked through a tiny mirror?" Risley questions.

"Yeah, what can be more crazy than that! Rubi-nee?" Araña chimes in.

"Time Travel." I say simply, and I swore I can hear the crickets chirping, which is weird, because the sun is out. I am not crazy! As a science fiction fan, I have watched shows like Stargate, Star Trek and many others, and my favorite episodes were the ones where they would travel through time. Back in my previous life, I would search the web for stories of time travel, especially fanfictions of my favorite shows. I've read so many stories about the subject, that failing to recognize it happening before my very eyes, especially now that I live in a world where such thing is possible, would make me facepalm in embarrassment. Anyway, Kagura has an expression of skepticism and slight annoyance, Risley looks like she has heard the most absurd thing in her life, and Araña just looks plain confused. "What? Is there something wrong?" I ask seriously, even though I know my idea is ridiculous at first glance.

"Rubi, I think that idea is absolutely absurd." Kagura says flatly.

"Yeah, I agree with Kagura on this one." Risley agrees.

"What do you mean by time travel?" Araña asks curiously.

I decide to answer Araña first. "Time Travel, as in we have been transported somewhere in the past." I look around some more to get an estimate on what time we are in, and look back to the girl. "I'd say we are a good 150 years or so in the past."

"But we didn't time travel. This place being called Salice is just a coincidence, not this nonsense you have suggested, Rubi." Kagura argues, to which Risley nods her head in agreement. Araña looks between us and decides to stay neutral.

Oh boy, it's time to go into debate mode.

"Ok, let me show you why I am right." I say as I crack my neck joints and clear my throat. I put one finger up. "First, look at the clothing everyone in this town is wearing. They are old fashioned. Like, very old fashioned. I don't even think people in the most rural of areas wear those types of clothes anymore. I remember seeing pictures in history books of people wearing those clothes over a hundred years ago." I then put a second finger up. "Secondly, that guy we just spoke to, he had a heavy Fiorian accent. While you might find some remote parts where some people still have it, he referred to our way of speaking as 'Crocian', and he spoke perfect Fiorian, which is essentially a dead language that was dying out even a hundred years ago, and is only spoken today by linguists." At this point, Araña and Risley are looking more convinced, while Kagura still looks unfazed. I put up a third finger. "Thirdly, isn't it odd that the lake we appeared at looked exactly the same as Lake Sirena, and that the church in this town is exactly the same as the one in Salice?" This last point got both Araña and Risley on my side.

Kagura still isn't completely convinced yet, but looks slightly less skeptical. "It's still more likely for this to be all coincidence than what you are suggesting. Seriously, you know how unlikely that theory is?"

I smirk, because I have one more point that will put the final nail in the coffin. "Oh yeah? Well why don't you take a look at that?" I say as I turn Kagura around and point to a building being constructed, and a statue being erected in front of it. A very distinct Statue. A statue of the founder of Salice. The same statue that was in front of the mayor's office.

Kagura stares for a moment, completely silent, before slumping her shoulders. "Fuck my life…" She says quietly under hear breath. She doesn't usually drop the F-bomb often. She looks to me, "Ok then, what now?" She asks.

I pull the mirror out of my Requip space and begin inspecting it. I sense same small magical signature when I found it in the library and I try putting magic power in to it, to see if I can activate it somehow, but it is unresponsive, and I stop so I don't accidentally break it. I look up to see the others looking at me and I shake my head. "Sorry, guys, but I don't think this is gonna work right now." I then get an idea and put a hand up to my chin. "Although…" This causes them to look at me in rapt attention. "Maybe we were sent here for a purpose!" I exclaim. This got me skeptical looks, and puts me on the defensive. I put up my hands. "Hey now, a lot of stories I've read where the characters get sent back in time by some weird magical object, it's always for a purpose! I swear!" I then go into lecture mode, which got audible groans from my friends. I started explaining the concepts of time travel using scientific terms like causality. Was it a bit unnecessary? Maybe. But it's not every day you get to go back a couple hundred years in the past! After I am done explaining my very complicated concepts, I notice the Araña is staring out into space, completely lost, eye twitching; Risley looks like she is in some sort of trance, lost in her own world, and Kagura looks like she is paying attention, but has no clue what I was talking about and is really bored… Awkward Silence… I feel my cheeks go warm with slight embarrassment. I think I over did it. I clear my throat. "Just trust me! Okay!?" I exclaim.

It is at this moment, that all of our stomachs combined into a cacophony of violent grumbling. Crap, we been so distracted by figuring out what was going on, we forgot that we didn't eat! "I think we should find something to eat…" Kagura says and the others nod, and begin walking back in the direction of the market place to buy some food.

"Wait!" I exclaim, stopping them. They look back at me as I am about to deliver the bad news, which is a fair assumption. "If I am correct, then the year is around X630-631ish, because the mayor's office is still not complete."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Risley remarks.

I start explaining. "That means, the money we have won't work. The jewel wasn't overhauled and standardized until another several decades or so. So basically-"

"We have no money." Kagura finishes my sentence.

"No!" Araña bellows in desperation.

Risley falls to her knees. "No…" She says quietly. "This can't be happening…" Her voice is conveying the loss of hope.

After a few moments, Kagura sighs and pulls the girl up, putting her back on her feet. "Ok, listen. The solution to our problem is simple. We should do some work around town and earn some money. If you don't mind waiting a few more hours, we can pool our money together and buy enough food to last us for a day or two."

"And, we should split up, doing different jobs so we have different sources of income." I add, which gets nods from everyone else. "Ok, I'm going to stay here, and see what jobs I can find. I suggest we go to different areas of the village."

With that, the group walks away from me, and I look around, my eyes immediately going to the unfinished mayor building. I see a group of men struggling to lift a large, heavy stone that was cut into a rectangular shape. The Mayor's office is a gothic style building that was made of stone at the lower levels. And if I remember correctly, it started out as the town meeting hall, before becoming the mayor's office when the village became a proper city. Seeing the men struggle presents me the perfect opportunity to help and earn some money. I walk over, and notice the men are shirtless, their ripped muscles are drenched with sweat and are panting heavily. Great, that's distracting… "Excuse me, but why are you trying to lift that stone by hand?" I ask, getting the attention of what I assume is the leader of the group, because he looks the oldest and has an air of 'in charge' about him.

The man is bearded and his chest is hairy, and he looks to be in his late thirties. He was about the same height as me, and he wiped his forehead, before answering my question. "Well, Signorina, our lifting equipment broke, so we have to lift the lighter blocks by hand while we wait for the black smith to repair the part that broke." He says, before sighing heavily from exhaustion. I see that the other men have stopped what they were doing, and are listening in on our conversation.

"Oh, that doesn't sound good." I say before looking him in his eyes, "Would you mind me helping? It looks like you could need some extra hands." The man looks at me, and the men behind him look at each other, before breaking out into laughter, which makes me confused. Why would they be laughing at my offer?

"Yeah ok, Signorina, you wouldn't be much help. This stone is a bit too heavy for someone like you. Maybe you could find an extra man to help us." The leader says between laughs, and the others behind make sounds of agreement.

Did he just… He did! I offer help and he responds to me with sexist degradation! I feel anger well within me, and the men fall deathly quiet. "Oh…" I say in a low, threatening tone, which causes them to take on expressions of fear. I walk towards the stone, and I feel small sparks crackle from my body, which causes the men to fearfully scramble to get out of my way. I lift the stone above my head with minimal effort, and walk over to where it needs to be, and set it down, making a loud crunch as the stone connects with another. I turn around to see the men looking at me, their jaws open all the way to the ground. I feel a smirk on my face. "So. I offer my help, and you pay me." I say in a cocky voice. "Deal?"

The men pick their jaws off the ground and nod vigorously. "H-How?" The leader asks, amazed at what he just saw.

I put up a hand and spark some electricity through it, causing the men to stare at it, wide eyed. "I'm a wizard, and picking up a few stones is not the hardest thing in the world." That is true. Most wizards can easily pick up things many times their own body weight. That stone probably weighed close to a thousand pounds, but to me, it felt like a couple of pounds. That shows the huge disparity between magic users and non-magic users. Even the strongest of men, cannot beat me in a contest of strength because of the natural strength boost I get from the magic that flows through my body. It's no wonder the ruling class was made of magic users for a long time. Normal people just can't compete with them, and humans naturally follow the strongest around.

I spent the rest of the afternoon helping out with the construction of the town hall, doing most of the heavy lifting, and even learning how to mortar a brick. Getting a lesson in stone masonry was a bonus of this job, and the hard work distracted me from the growing starvation welling up within me. Well that, and numbing my stomach with electricity to nullify the hunger pains. By the end of the afternoon, I had worked up a good sweat, and earned a good 100 jewels. All cast iron of course. 100 jewels might sound like chump change, but in this time, it's a pretty decent payout. Gotta love inflation.

I wipe the sweat off my brow, and notice my friends standing where we split earlier, looking at me. I walk over to them, and ask, "So, guys, how was your day? Any luck?"

Kagura nods, Risley grimaces and looks like a mess while Araña grins brightly. Kagura holds out a pouch with quite a few jewels in it. "Together, Risley, Araña and I earned a combined total of 500 jewels."

I smile. "Good, that means we have 600 jewels total to get some food and rent a room at an Inn." I then look to Risley. "What happened to you?" I question. She looks like she has had one hell of a bad day. Well, more so then she already was with the whole time traveling situation.

Risly grumpily blows a hair out of her face. "Kagura and I helped on a farm. Our job was to round up horses, and get them to plow a field. For some reason, Kagura got all the nice, calm ones, while I got the ones spawned by Satan." She grumbles.

"They would have listened if you were a bit calmer and patient, instead of being spooking them with you rowdiness." Kagura points out flatly, which earns her a dirty look from Risley.

Before Risley could retort, Araña interjects. "I made a bunch of things with my web magic, like leashes and ropes and even necklaces!" Araña exclaims excitedly.

Risley looks away from Kagura, and pouts. "Lucky…" Risley mutters under her breath.

I snort with laughter. "Ok, I think you guys seen what I've done, so I think we should go find an Inn." We then went off searching for a place to stay, and for about 30 minutes, we found nothing. At this point, the sun was going down, and we don't have much daylight left. "This can't be possible… What village doesn't have and Inn!?" I say desperately, before falling to me knees. "Why!?" I call to the heavens. I then clutch my stomach in pain, which has struck me with great anger and furious vengeance. "Why…" I groan.

I hear Kagura sigh behind me. "Stop being so dramatic, Rubi, we can just camp outside, and we can just hold it until-"She is interrupted by a large grumble, which I assume is her stomach. "…Morning…" I hear her say with embarrassment.

To go a day and a whole night without food and shelter… This was a god dammed tragedy of the worst possible kind!

"Hey, Wizards!" A woman's voice calls from behind.

I look behind to see a woman with long, dark blue hair, wearing a white long sleeved shirt and a dark long skirt. She is waving at as us.

"You are the wizards, yes?" She questions with a fiorian accent.

Kagura looks to the woman. "Yes, we are the wizards." She answers.

I stand up and walk next to Kagura as the woman smirks. "Great." She says, before walking up to us, and I notice that she has ocean blue eyes along with high cheekbones and a rounded chin. I also notice that her attire hides her figure, but if I were to guess, she is hiding a voluptuous figure underneath the masking clothing. And no, I am not checking her out. I'm being purely objective here. "I've noticed the four of you working around, helping our town, I would like to thank you… My name is Arvella Bernini." She says with a smirk, and extends her hand out. Kagura shakes it.

"It was our pleasure. You have a nice little town here. One of the nicest we've seen." Kagura compliments.

The Arvella's smirk widens. "Thank You. It's not every day we get wizards around here, especially ones that are young women like you four."

"Yeah, we have been getting that a lot around here…" Risley says as she walks up to my side. "It's kinda old after a while…" She says tiredly.

Arvella shrugs. "Well, not many women learn magic, but I assume it's more common in Crocus, no?"

"Uh yeah, way more common in crocus…" I say semi-confidently. I keep forgetting that everyone here thinks we are from Crocus.

"Anyway, I've noticed you four haven't anywhere to stay, and it would be rude of us, as a town, to not provide any form of shelter for those who have helped us." She starts, and I perk up what I hear.

"Are you offering a place to stay for the night?" Kagura asks cautiously. She is trying to keep her expression polite and professional, but if one were to look closely, you could see the stars in her eyes at prospect of not sleeping outside, and maybe even a meal.

The woman simply nods, and I think I never been happier in my entire life. "We're saved…." I mutter out loud, and Kagura slaps my arm lightly. "What!? We have no food, and I'm hungry!" I half whine.

"That's rude, Rubi." Kagura scolds, then her stomach let's out what sounds like an angry, howling roar, and she blushes.

"Looks like you body doesn't lie, Kagura-chan." Risley snarks, and then her stomach goes off as well, and she clutches her stomach and winces.

Kagura composes herself. "Are you sure? We would hate to be a burden."

I look to Kagura in desperation. Why!? Why are you trying to ruin this for us!?

Arvella snorts with amusement. "Well, I actually have a big meal prepared for tonight, so you pose no burden to me." She states casually.

This woman is a saint!

Arvella puts on a sincere expression. "I insist. You four have earned it." She then turns around and starts walking the opposite direction from us. "Come, join my family for dinner." She says over her shoulder.

Kagura, Risley and I exchange looks, before nodding in silent agreement. They start following, but I don't, because I notice that one person has been silent. I look behind me, and slightly to my side is Araña, staring in contemplation. I look to her. "Araña?" I say, trying to get her attention, but to no avail. I then snap my fingers a few times, and that does the trick.

She snaps out of her daze. "Wha-Oh, sorry Rubi-nee I was just thinking…" She says.

I raise a brow. "What were you thinking about?" I inquire.

"Well... that woman…" She says, seeming to struggle to find words. "Well, I don't know how to describe it, but she seems strange, yet familiar." She puts a hand on her chin, and her face turns contemplative. "I can't help but think I've meet her before, but that's impossible because we are a few hundred years in the past." She then shrugs. "Oh, well. I think it's the hunger getting to my head." She chirps and runs off to catch up with the others.

I think back to our conversation, and now that I think about, I too am getting feelings of familiarity... What a conundrum. Oh well, I'll think on this later, because right now, I have a fever, and the only prescription is more food! With that, I run after the group, and follow Arvella back to her house.

We eventually arrive, and her house is a bit bigger than most of the other homes in the village, with it being two stories and having a more modern roof. It is on the edge of the forest, so that's probably why it's a bit bigger, because of more space to build. Arvella stops at the door and faces us. "I'd like to welcome you to my home. Make sure to take off your shoes, and I will have dinner ready shortly."

I'm disheartened a bit by the fact we would have to wait a bit more, but I should be extremely grateful to Arvella for inviting us to her home and treating us to dinner.

Never turn down a free meal.

* * *

I'm sorry for not much happening, but the next scene is a pretty big one, and I felt that this was a good point to stop it. Plus, the next scene is very information packed with character development that I felt deserves it's own chapter. This arc is practice for writing multiple characters in one scene. I know when I get to canon, I will have a lot of character's dialogue to keep track of, so this arc is me preparing for that. I am sorry if the dialogue is jarring or if one character doesn't talk. I'm trying to improve that part of my writing.

I would like to thank my Italian Expert, RadioPoisoning for helping me with anything Italian related in the chapter and in the future. One thing I would hate to do is get a foreign language wrong.

Rubi can be quite scary, and I love writing scenes that let her channel her inner Scarlet, and frightening the crap out of people. I know some people will be in disbelieve that Rubi recognized time travel so quickly, but since she is based off me, she has read tons of time travel stories, and has seen tons of different ways it could happen. Plus, she knows it can happen in the FT universe. I feel as though I could of spent more time in her trying to convince the others, but I felt that would be dragged out.

I can't wait to write the next chapter, because it has some really fun parts to it. If you are confused what time they are in, the hint is in the Title.


	29. Sentimenti Nascosti

**This chapter took me forever to write. I'm not so good with scenes that require lots of dialogue, but I finally go it done to the point I was satisfied with it. I would like to thank RadioPoisoning for providing me with correct Italian and my beta, redscarfninja for beta'ing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Sentimenti Nascosti**

Arvella holds the door open for us and we walk into her home and are greeted by a pleasant site. Inside there is a big oak table big enough to hold at least a dozen people, a lit stone fire place in the back giving off a warm glow with two couches, a rocking chair, and a coffee table. The walls were painted a pale blue with various paintings of landscapes to decorate them, and there are lanterns attached to the walls to illuminate the room with candle light. There are two doors on the far walls, and to the left is an entrance-way to a kitchen, which has old fashioned stoves and sinks. It is like walking into a museum. The air smells of cooking food and burning wood from the fireplace. This is the homeliest place I have ever seen.

Before I can take the sight in, a little girl's voice interrupts me.

"Mama!" the voice says with excitement, and I see a girl running out of the kitchen area who looks to be about 7 to 8 years old. She was wearing a light blue dress with a white apron and long sleeves, and she has a white cap on her head, covering her hair. She stops in her tracks, and confusion takes over her joyful expression. "Who are you?" She asks with a quirked brow.

"Sofia, these are the guests that I told you about that I was thinking on asking to join us." I hear Arvella say before she walks in front of us and towards the girl and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I would like you to meet my daughter, Sofia."

Sofia just stares at us in silence, looking at each of us carefully before finally opening her mouth. "Why are you wearing such weird clothes?" She asks with blunt curiosity.

…

Arvella sighs before giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, I still haven't drilled manners into her…" She says with an awkward laugh before she looks to her daughter and her face grows serious. "Sofia, non essere rude verso il nostro ospite! Chiedi scusa immediatamente!" She scolds in Fiorian. I don't know what she said, but I assume it has something to do with apologizing.

The girl's eyes go wide with panic. "Va bene, mamma!" She quickly runs up to us and bows a little bit before looking up at us. I notice that she has blue eyes like her mother, and is wearing a necklace with a blue crystal hanging from it. "I'm sorry for making fun of your clothes!" She exclaims, trying her best to sound sincere.

I smile. "It's okay, our clothes are pretty weird for around here. No harm done." I say calmly the girl.

"Yeah, it's not every day you see someone wearing spider themed clothing!" Araña chimes in.

"Yes, compared to everyone else, we are quite odd." Kagura agrees.

"Yeah, no offense taken." Says Risley.

Sofia makes a toothy grin, but before she can speak, Arvella interrupts. "Sofia, I thought I told you to get the table ready."

Sofia looks to her mother and her shoulders slouch with dread. "But, Mama, you told both me and Papa to set the table, but as soon as you left, Papa just left me here." She was squirming during her explanation. "It's not fair for me to do all the work…" She pouts.

Arvella closes her eyes and sighs while pinching the bridge of her nose, muttering something under breath. "Julius!" She suddenly yells in an annoyed tone.

I hear something scrambling from the door on the far right and then it suddenly opens, revealing a tall man with bright yellow hair, who is wearing a white shirt with rolled sleeves that was tight enough to reveal a well-muscled body, with dark denim pants. He is rubbing the back of his head and his face is apologetic. "Sorry, Honey, but I thought I could get some work done real quick, and well... one thing lead to another, and…" He laughs awkwardly.

Arvella sighs. "I told you and Sofia to get the table ready for our guest! Now dinner will be ready, but there will be no table to eat on!" She barks, causing the man to shrink a little.

"Sorry, I will get right on it!" He scrambles towards the table and starts preparing.

"I think we should help too, after all, we are being treated to dinner." I hear Kagura say.

"Oh, you don't have to, you are our guests, leave it to my husband." Arvella lightly protests.

I smile. "No, it's fine. It would be our pleasure." I say as I walk towards the table and start preparing it. Arvella shrugs and walks into the kitchen, presumably to finish dinner.

"I'm going to help her with that. I help my mom all the time at home." Araña says as she walks to the kitchen.

The rest of us spent the next few minutes cleaning the room and preparing the table, which I got to say, is a pretty nice table. It is a nice solid oak table stained to bring out the true beauty of the wood. It kind of reminds me of the family table from my previous life, which was an old butchers table made of nice solid oak, and was nice and smooth and… Why am I getting so nostalgic over a table?

We finish the setting the table, and then the man, Julius, I think, grins.

"I don't think I've ever seen the table set so fast before…" He then puts a hand to his chin. "Although, I don't think we have had so many guests before." His eyes then go wide with revelation. "Oh, I just remembered?! I haven't formally introduced myself to you Signorinas!" He says with a snap of his fingers. He then points to himself. "I am Julius Bernini, local architect, and foreman of the construction of the soon to be town hall." He says before sticking his hand out.

I meet his hand with my own, and grips it firmly, giving it a strong shake. If I wasn't a wizard that could crush boulders with my pinky, I think this shake might have hurt, but I think he knows that I am a wizard and is just testing my strength. "I'm Rubina Crimson, and I'm assuming you saw me lift those heavy stones?" I ask while releasing from the hand shake.

He nods with a grin. "Oh yes, I definitely did. That broken lift would have put us a week behind schedule, but thanks to you, we are now ahead of schedule now! I wanted to reward you, and my lovely Wife saw the four of you walking together and suggested we treat you to dinner!" He then moves on to Risley and Kagura to shake their hands as well. He then goes back to the door he originally entered from. "Well, I'm going to try to clean up my work space before dinner. See you in a few minutes." He says over his shoulder as he opens the door and enters, closing it behind him.

I take a seat, and finally rest my tired feet. It seems like not eating the whole day really does a number on your stamina.

Arvella and Araña both walk out of the kitchen with silverware and glass cups. "Dinner will be done in a few minutes." Arvella says casually as she starts setting down eating utensils. She then looks around and sighs. "That man… He has been so busy lately…" She shakes her head and continues.

Araña grins as she does the same. "It's gonna be great! It looked so delicious!" She has a dreamy expression on her face and there is some drool slightly hanging out of her mouth.

"What is it?" Kagura questions hungrily. I look Araña, intently waiting to see what our long-awaited meal would be.

Araña snaps out of her food fantasy, and shakes her head with a smirk. "It's a surprise!" she teases and sticks out her tongue.

This got a desperate groan from Risley. "Why must you torment me more! I haven't eaten all day and had to work a farm all day, the least you could do is tell me what we are eating…" She ends he rant with a hungry whimper, and sags into the chair she is sitting in.

"I did the same amount of work as you did, Risley, but I must admit that I am curious as to what we are eating." Kagura is trying to make her voice sound neutral, but the desperate hunger still lingers in her voice.

I am currently numbing my hunger pains with electricity via magic, so it's easier for me to keep my composure. I don't know how Araña is managing without electrical magic. I don't sense anything coming from her. Maybe she just has that strong of a will.

"Don't worry, dinner will be out soon." Arvella reassures as she sets the last piece of silverware down, and takes a seat. She then looks at us. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you out here?" She asks smoothly.

Kagura responds. "Well, we were traveling throughout Fiore, and we kind of went off the beaten path and we ended up lost."

Arvella smirks. "You got to be careful when going off into the wilderness, never know when you are going to find yourself somewhere unfamilar."

Kagura smiles. "Well, it would have been fine if someone didn't lose the map…" She looks to me in fake accusation.

Really, Kagura, you are gonna put the spotlight on me!? Damnit, it's time for some more grade A acting. "I told you it was an accident!" I rebuke.

Kagura shakes her head. "An accident that ended up making us lost…" She responds flatly.

I sigh in defeat. "I said I was sorry…"

"Hey now, we are at a dinner table. This should be a time of coming together, not arguing." Arvella interjects our 'argument'.

Sofia looks curious. "You travel a lot?"

I look to the curious girl and nod.

"Cool!" She has an excited grin on her face and is standing up, bouncing with energy. "What places have you been? Hargeon!? Crocus!? Akane!? I've never been outside Salice before!" She says rapidly.

I smile at her enthusiasm. "Yes, I have been to all three of those. They are much different than here. More crowded." Actually, I've never been to Crocus nor Akane. Crocus was too far away to get job offers and for some reason, Celia does not like the mention of the place. I have deduced it is probably some bad memory, but what could have been so bad that she disdains the mentioning of the place? As for Akane, well... never felt the need to go there. Lake Sirena is already very nice, and there are no pushy tourists.

"Wow…" She says, stars in her eyes. "Can you take with me with you some time!? I want to go everywhere!"

"Sorry, but you need to pass school first before you can travel the world, Il mio piccolo Tesoro." Arvella says lovingly, booping her nose with her finger.

"Mamma…" Sofia's cheeks are a deep red.

I let out a small giggle. "I'm sorry, but I think you are a bit young. Plus, we are wizards, so you would be put in danger if you traveled with us."

"Yeah, you kinda need to have magic ability first. Sorry, Kid." Risley says apologetically.

Sofia cocks her head. "Oh, you guys are wizards?" Her question is met by nods, and she grins. "So you can do magic like Mamma!" She blurts out fast. Said woman looks surprised for a moment before recovering quickly.

"You are a wizard too?" Kagura questions, genuine surprise in her voice.

"Oh, it's just a few magic tricks that I have learned by myself. Just a little water control." She brushes off the question off casually. "I'm not really a wizard, just a person who knows some rudimentary magic tricks."

Sofia has confusion on her face. "But, Mamma, you-"

"Sofia, let's not talk about private matter in front of guests." She cuts her off, exasperation in her voice.

"Mamma, I-"

"Sofia, vuoi imparare a usare la magia o no!?" She barks sharply.

Sofia gulps. "Va bene, Mamma."

Arvella then stands up. "I think dinner should be done. Sofia, help carry the food." She then walks to the kitchen. Sofia silently follows her in.

I look around to the others, confused at what just happened. "Why was she so defensive about her having a little bit of magical ability?" Araña questions.

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe she is trying to keep it secret from the rest of the village?" I suggest.

Kagura puts a hand to her chin. "Why would she do that? It's not like the village has shown any ill will toward magic users…"

"Well, maybe not foreign users, but maybe domestic ones are discriminated against. Everyone here assumes we are from Crocus, which at this point in history, is one of the few places to get magic training. The upper class were the only ones that could afford it, and the rich often have lots of power. Most guilds in this era mainly formed in Crocus. Maybe they know if they are rude or hostile towards who they perceive as upper class, fierce retribution would follow." I chew the inside of my mouth while thinking of other explanations, and then sigh. "Or she just wants to keep it private. I haven't sensed any ill will towards us, and I can only detect a small magic pool from her, but it is just a bit bigger than the average person's, so that backs up her claim of just small magic tricks I suppose. We can ask about it another time, I would rather not bite the hand that is feeding us right now."

I hear a door open, and I look to see Julius walking out of his room. "Is dinner almost done?" He questions as he takes a seat at the front of the table.

"Yes, I believe so. Sofia and your wife went to go retrieve it from the kitchen." Kagura responds.

He grins. "Alright! I have worked up quite the appetite today."

I then notice Arvella carrying out a pan with oven mitts on her hands, and behind her is Sofia carrying a glass bowl full of what appears to be salad. "I haven't made this dish in a while, but I think it is the best Lasagna I have ever made." She puts the pan full of pasta in the center of the table, and Sofia puts the salad near Julius.

It takes all my will power not to scramble for the pan full of cheese and pasta goodness. My greatest love might be sweets and strawberries, but cheese was my first love, going all the way back to my previous life.

Cheese is love, cheese is life.

Me and my friends are silent at the sight of such delectable looking food, but we know to wait for the go ahead to eat.

Arvella sits on one side of Julius, and Sofia takes a seat next to her. They then simultaneously put their hands up to pray, and I quickly follow suit. I have never prayed before dinner before, but I do know that you should wait until after grace has been said. "Benedici, o Signore, questo cibo e tutti coloro che l'hanno preparato, Amen." Arvella and her family say slowly.

I stay silent throughout, not knowing the prayer nor understanding what was just said. I'm assuming it is a Zentopian prayer, because they are the equivalent of the Catholic church in this world, and Fiore is a historical Zentopian stronghold.

"Ok, buon appetite!" Julius cheers, and he starts serving out food.

As much as I like salad in this new life, I need something more filling, and so I go for the lasagna and fill my plate up as much as I can. I put the first piece in my mouth, and it is like tasting pure ecstasy. Time slows down as I am enveloped in pure bliss. I think I'm having a mouthgasm.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot the Refosco." I hear Julius say through my food induced haze. I eventually snap out of my food coma, to see the lasagna on my plate half gone, and Julius pouring a dark red liquid in the glass next to my plate.

I think I just blacked out from the food and didn't notice eating half my plate. I look around to see my friends eating their food eagerly and silently. I take sip of the liquid that was poured in all our glasses. It tastes oddly familiar, but I can't quite place where I have tasted it before. Oh well, it's good and really goes well with the lasagna, so I set off taking sips between bites.

"So, who taught you signorinas magic? It must have been hard to get a teacher." Julius asks.

"We are from Crocus, as you might have guessed." I respond, serving myself another piece of lasanga. I put a large scoop of salad beside it to balance out my meal.

"My father was part of a guild, and with some convincing, he taught how to use magic. We ended being better than he expected." Kagura adds to my story.

"I'm impressed. It's very hard for one to find a teacher. You are very lucky for that." Julius laughs out.

"Yes, extremely lucky." Risly confirms nervously.

Me and Kagura are grade A actors when we were working together. Risley, not so much.

I then notice my glass is empty. I tend to chug down anything I drink when it tastes really good. In my previous life, whenever I would go to a restaurant, I would end up drinking like three to four glasses of soda. That was my only weakness. Julius notices my empty glass as well.

"Would like some more?" he asks, picking up the jug.

I nod at his question, and he quickly pours more of the delicious liquid as I continue eating my meal. I start feeling a bit lighter, and it feels a little bit harder to concentrate on things, but that must be me feeling tired. When I finish my glass, I ask for another, which Julius happily pours.

This night is just getting greater and greater!

XXX

Kagura never expected to travel back 150+ years. She never expected to go a whole day without eating, and then have perhaps the best meal of her life. For free. Kagura finishes her plate and looks around the table. She sees Araña and Risley rubbing their stomachs, exuding satisfaction, Rubina looking very flushed for some reason with a grin on her face while talking with Julius, and a very tired looking Sofia with Arvella looking at her with concern.

"Sofia, I think it's time for you to go to bed. School is tomorrow." Arvella said while getting up.

"But Mamma, I don't want *yawn* to…" Sofia shoulders sagged, and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"Come one, let's go." Arvella picked her up and carried her to what Kagura assumed is her room. Kagura smiled at the sight, remembering when Araña was that age. Kagura then looks back to Rubina to see her getting more drink poured into her glass. "Excuse me, Julius-san, but may I have some more of this… Rofosco?" She said slowly, not sure if she got the name correctly.

Julius shook his head. "Sorry, Signorina, but it would be irresponsible for me to let kids have more than one glass. It's pretty powerful." He said politely.

Kagura quirked a brow. "Why? What is this stuff?" She leaned forward, worried about what her best friend, not crush, had been binging on.

"Rofosco is wine of course! You can't have a meal without a fine glass of wine. And sometimes, heh, it's nice to have a little more than one." He had a wide grin on his face as he explained the joys of wine.

Kagura, and the rest of the people at the table, stopped, shock overtaking their faces.

Julius, noticing the shocked silence in the room, grew concerned. "What?"

Kagura regained her composure. "R-Rubi is 15…" She stuttered out.

For a moment, Julius was silent, processing what he just learned. Rubina giggling in her seat was all that can be heard. Julius sighs, and then facepalms. "Cazzo!"

Rubi bursted out laughing. "He said a funny worrrdddd!" She slurred through a heavy belly laugh.

Kagura looked over to see her now empty glass, and then back to Julius, who looked panicked. "Why would you give her so much Alcohol!?"

Julius threw his arms up and started waving them around in panic. "I don't know! She looks older than 18! I thought she just wanted a good drink!" He was standing now, running his hand through his head. "I'm going to be sleeping on the couch for a while…." He said with a bit of sadness.

Rubina snorted. "Ha, your wife isss gonnnaa make sleep on a couchhh. No sessshh for youuuu!" She giggled.

He looked to her, about to verbally retaliate, but remembered he was the reason she was like that, and all he felt was nothing but guilt. He then looked around, and then rapidly cleaned the table at speeds Kagura didn't think was possible for a non-magic user. All Kagura could do was stare at the spectacle that was drunk Rubina, who was laughing every time Julius fumbled something. "Well, see you later, sorry for this! The chairs and couches are for you to sleep on! My wife will bring pillows!" He said rapidly as he ran into his bedroom, Kagura's eyes followed him the whole way. Laughing brought her attention back to Rubina, who was holding up the wine bottle, which had less than a fourth of it left.

"He left this!" She exclaimed hysterically, and lifted the bottle to her mouth.

Kagura, Risley, and Araña all dove towards her, exclaiming, "No!", but even in her drunken state, Rubina was able to dodge, and all they managed to do is dog pile on top of each other.

Rubi giggled, and wagged her finger. "Sorry, but I have a date with thisss bottle." She then drank the rest of the bottle in one go. She shakily put the bottle on the table in a fit of giggles, wobbled to the couch, and fell backwards on the cushions. "Wow, that stuff is awesome!" She then began having a laughing fit.

Kagura, Risley and Araña walked over to the fire place area, where the laughing, drunken girl was, worry marring their faces. "Great, what should we do now?" Kagura said, her back facing the girl on the couch.

"My mom didn't really get drunk often, but I have seen what she does when Master is drunk. She always takes away any remaining alcohol, and when Master falls asleep, she makes sure that she is placed in a way such that they don't drown if they were vomit in their sleep." Araña recalled.

Risley had a horrified expression. "That's a thing!? That sounds both disgusting and the worst way to die ever!" She was a bit jittery at the thought of such a horrific way to go.

"Calm down." Kagura commanded calmly. "We should make sure she stays on the couch and doesn't go anywhere. Who knows what she will do when she is in this state." While she was talking, she failed to notice that Rubina had stopped her laughing fit and was sitting up, eyeing Kagura with a spark of mischief in her eyes, and was slowly getting ready to pounce like cheetah would a gazelle. "After she has fallen asleep we shoul- ack!" She choked out as she was suddenly grappled from behind by Rubina, who hung on tightly with her arms around purple-nette's waist.

"Whatcha doooin?" Rubina slurred playfully next to Kagura's ear, before resting her face into her hair. Kagura was wide eyed, and her face had a deep blush on it. "R-Rubi, I-I think you should calm down, let me go, and get some sleep." She stuttered out, struggling to keep her composure.

Rubina lifted her head for a brief moment. "Nah." She said simply before she buried her face once more.

Kagura then noticed Risley, struggling to keep in her laughter, and gave the hardest glare she could with her still flushed face.

Araña, looked confused."What's so funny?" she asked innocently?

"Risley, if you spread your lies to Araña, you will suffer…" Kagura threatened lowly.

Risley saw the grip Rubina had Kagura in, grinned mischievously, and leaned over to whisper in Araña's ear. Kagura tensed up and prepared to jump Risley, but was stopped by a question. "Kagura, has anyone ever told you that your hair smells good…" Rubina mumbled into Kagura's hair.

Kagura's entire face glowed a deep red. "N-No…" She said, sounding like she was out of breath.

"Huh, I always thought it smelled pretty good…" Rubina then tightened her grip a little bit. "…Like lavender…" She slowly mumbled, before breaking out into playful giggles.

Kagura had figurative steam blowing out of her nose, her heart was beating out of her chest, her breath shallow, and her legs became weak. She then forcefully broke free of Rubina, throwing the giggling girl to the couch, and fell to the floor, managing to prop herself up with her arm. Kagura could hardly think, but somehow managed to turn her head to see Risley whispering in Araña's ear, whose eyes were wide and face had a small blush. This snapped Kagura out of her trance, and Kagura growled angrily, and prepared to get up and discipline the girl. Kagura was then tackled, her back slamming flat on the floor. Kagura was slightly dazed, but she then realized her assailant, and her heart stopped.

Rubina was on top of her, her face in close proximity, breathing the same air. Said girl had a large smirk on her face, and Kagura was wide eyed, her breathing still, her heart beating so fast, that it felt like it was going to violently burst out of her chest. "I got youuu nowww~" Rubina sang, and moved her face closer to Kagura's, their noses were almost touching. "What cannn I do to you~" Rubina said in a low tone.

Kagura was powerless. Her arms were noodles, and her body was dead weight. All she could see was Rubina's big, ruby red eyes. Kagura closed her eyes, and hoped that this would stop. But deep down, she wanted something more to happen. She then felt a finger touch her nose, followed by a playful "Boop!"

Kagura eyes snapped open to see Rubina looking down at her with a large grin on her face. Rubina then rolled off the girl and started having another laughing fit. Kagura laid there, her brain unable to process what just happened while Rubina was laughing and rolling around on the floor. Risley was having a deep belly laugh while Araña was laughing lightly, who felt a little bad for Kagura. Eventually Rubina stopped laughing, a let out a big yawn. She sat up and saw that there were no pillows on the couches. "Awww, no pillows…" She pouted before her eyes set upon a very petrified Kagura. A playful grin overtook Rubina's face. She then laid next to Kagura and rested her head right on her chest. "Just like feather pillows…" Rubina said tiredly before she closed her eyes and fell asleep with a peaceful smile.

Kagura. exe had stopped working and was still rebooting, so she did not react to anything said or done.

"She liiiikes youuuu!" Risley said playfully, which snapped Kagura out of her broken trance.

Kagura, her features full of anger, gently pushed Rubina off her breasts, stood up, and gave Risley a death glare. "Why didn't you help me!" She hissed vehemently.

Risley was unfazed by the glare. "I didn't want to interrupt the love fest!" She chirped, and made kissing noises.

"There was no type of love there!" Kagura denied angrily with a blush on her face. "Rubi was just drunk! And that's it. She is just a bit clingy. There is no way she actually feels that way!" Kagura's fists were clenched, her fingernails digging in to her palms.

Risley smirked. "I don't know, it almost looked like you enjoyed it. I saw the way you closed your eyes. You were waiting for something! Just admit you have a crush!"

Araña backed away, deciding to stay out of the argument.

Before the two could go at each other, they were interrupted by Arvella, who had pillows and sheets under her arms. "I'd rather you not have a fight in my house." She said bluntly, her expression unamused. Kagura snapped her head away with a "hmmpf!" and crossed her arms. Arvella sighed and walked over to hand them pillows and blankets. "I apologize for my husband. He should have never offered her so much wine." She shook her head with annoyance.

"It's fine. Rubi always gets her age mistaken." Kagura grumbled, still angry at Risley.

Arvella smirked. "Here, let me help you get her on the couch. She is going to have a bad time in the morning, might as make sure she has a comfortable sleep." She then grabbed the red head by her shoulders, while Kagura nodded and grabbed Rubina by the legs. They promptly lifted the girl onto the couch and then put a sheet over her before carefully placing a pillow under head. Everyone else prepared their sleeping spots while they were making sure Rubina was in a proper position.

"Kagura." Arvella said, and gestured to the girl to follow her. "I would like to speak with you for a second." Kagura quirked a brow, but nodded and followed the woman toward the kitchen, for some privacy. "I saw what happened just now." This caused Kagura to blush fiercely and open her mouth to try and rebuke the woman, but she was cut off. "I know it's not my business, but…" Arvella put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "You know, when people are… Intoxicated… especially to that level, it is said that they reveal things... Things like secrets, desires… feelings…" She said carefully, a small smile on her face. "They might reveal inner feelings and desires that they might not realize they have." Arvella then winked and walked away, leaving the girl to think about what was just said.

Kagura stood there for a moment, feeling a little bit better for a reason that was lost on her, and shook her head. She then walked out of the kitchen to see everyone fast asleep. She looked at Rubina, who had a peaceful smile on her face. "Could it be that…" She whispered to herself slowly, before smacking her cheek. "That's impossible." She said firmly, before deciding to go to sleep.

It took a long while for her fall asleep that night.

* * *

Drunk Rubi was super fun to write. She is a clingy/affectionate drunk. She is gonna have a fun time in the morning. Drunk Rubi expresses desires and thoughts that Sober Rubi doesn't consciously think about, and doesn't know she has. It also fits the theme of Drunk FT Girls having two different personalities.

I was going to put translations of all the Italian phrases used, but most of them can be inferred by context. If you want to know what was literally said, google translate will work just fine.

I'm sorry for taking so long, hopefully I can get the next chapter out fast.


	30. Postumi di Sbornia

**Ok guys, I am SO sorry for the incredibly long wait. I really wanted this chapter to be posted in July, but I had a streak of just bad weeks that just killed my motivation to write. But, I managed to pull myself together and finally finish this chapter. University will be starting real soon, so I won't have much time to update, but I will not stop updating this story, it will just take longer to write chapters. Also, some people (actually just one, I know who you are) have been abusing the anonymous reviews to send demands for me to update. By demands, I mean using profane language and calling me names to get me to update. I'm not that bothered by update requests, but once you start demanding in such a way, then it gets annoying and won't make the chapter go out any faster. Anyway, I would like to thank RadioPoisoning for his help with the Italian language and my beta redscarfninja for being my beta.**

* * *

 **Postumi di Sbornia**

I open my eyes and I'm blinded by a piercing light, and suddenly, it feels like a nail is being struck through my head. My mouth is dry with a terrible taste that makes me grimace, and I move my tongue around in an attempt to get rid of it. I try to put my hand over my head, to block the vicious, evil light, but my arm is sluggish, and it takes longer than what I would have liked. I let out a low groan of misery, and I roll on my stomach, burying my face in to a pillow.

Why do I feel like I was hit by a freight train then hit by a car and then into another freight train!? What happened last night...?

"You're finally up!" I hear Araña exclaim in excitement, and immediately my headache goes from a bell ringing in my head to a nuclear explosion, and I immediately cover my ears and groan loudly from the intense ringing in my ears.

God, why have you forsaken me!?

"Araña! Be quiet, it is too early for yelling." I hear the muffled scolding of Kagura. After a little bit of time, the pain in my head lessens enough for me to function like a normal person, and I take my hands off my ears.

"Yeah, the poor girl drank a lot of wine, so she must be having the biggest hangover of her life!" Risley exclaims.

"It seems like you are experienced…" Kagura accuses.

"Heh, I never got drunk myself, but I have seen my father drink a little too much before…" Risley rebuts.

Oh, that's what happened… How much did I drink!? A barrel!? Oh no, I'm turning into that drunk girl from Fairy Tail! I raise my head, my vision is blurry and the light from the room causes my eyes to ache. A few blinks and my vision clears to see everyone looking at me. "W-ha…" My throat is hoarse and my mouth is dry. I try once again. "W-What happened last night?" I force out through my strained vocal cords.

Risley smirks. "Well, you practically drank a whole bottle of wine. I don't blame ya for falling prey to it though, it was a bit strong." She leans back on the chair she is sitting in(on?) and stretches her arms. "It was pretty awesome…"

Kagura shakes her head. "You should really watch what you drink, Rubi. People get reckless when consuming that much alcohol." She crosses her arms and has a look of disappointment on her face. "And things they usually regret."

"What… What did I do last night?" I croak out.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, Kagura's cheeks flush red, Araña starts to giggle a bit, and Risley has a smug, toothy grin stretching across her face. "Well…" Risley chuckles out.

Oh God, what did I do…

"Risley, do it, and I will personally see to your execution!" Kagura hisses.

I feel my face scrunch up in confusion. What happened that has Kagura threatening the life of Risley?

After a few, tense moments, Risley sighs, but her smile is still on her face. "You kinda tripped and pulled Kagura's pants down… and her panties…" Her grin was bright, and she looks to Kagura with a big, bold wink and a cheeky whistle.

Oh… Now I feel my cheeks heat up.

Kagura keeps her expression neutral, before a dark look creeps upon her face, causing Risley to jump in her seat. "When we get out of here, you are going to suffer…"

If I weren't dying on the inside, and deeply embarrassed, I would be laughing right now. "Sorry about that… I will try to not to drink to so much next time…"

Someone suddenly clears their throat, and I look to see Arvella standing behind Risley holding a tray with a teapot and cups on it. Said girl jumps out of the chair with a surprised yelp and lands on the floor. Arvella has a neutral expression as she proceeds to sit down where Risley just was and calmly sets the tea on the coffee table.

"Arvella-san, you shouldn't sneak up on wizards like that!" Risley says on the ground, clutching her heart.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings, Risley…" Kagura has a little smirk on her face.

I can't be bothered to make a snarky comment, because I feel a bad feeling in my stomach manifest, but it doesn't compare to the headache that is still ravaging my brain.

Arvella looks to Risley. "Sorry I scared you like that, but I have some things to discuss…" Her eyes narrow, and her features become serious. If I didn't feel like shit right now, I would be tensing up, but instead, the pain in my stomach grows larger, and I can see the others start sweating from the intense look Arvella is giving us. "Now that my husband is at work, and my daughter is at school, let's get down to business. Where do you really come from?"

I don't feel so good…

"What do you mean?" Kagura tries her best to hide her nervousness, but she has a bead of sweat running down her face. Risley and Araña are trying their hardest to stay calm, but they are squirming nervously. "We are from Crocus."

Arvella sighs and glares, which is so intense, it feels like there is an overbearing pressure coming just from her eyes. It somehow manages to pierce my headache, but it also makes my stomach ache unbearable. "I don't like to be lied to." She says slowly, but with venom.

Kagura keeps her face straight, but her hands are in fists, trying to keep her composure. "We are not ly-"

"I saw you four come out of a mirror." Arvella snaps, silencing her instantly.

The room is silent, until a wide Kagura finally says, "Oh… That…"

I can't take it anymore! I can't hold it! I jump off the couch, clutching my stomach. "Where's the bathroom!" I shout in panic.

Arvella calmly points, and I sprint like my live depended on it.

Usain Bolt got nothing on me!

XXX

 **3rd person POV**

The room was silent after Rubina scampered. So silent, that a pin drop could be heard.

Araña was fidgeting in her seat, her eyes looking everywhere except the scary, deadpanning woman sitting in the chair across from her. Risley was trying her best not to panic and was practicing a breathing exercise while twiddling her thumbs nervously. Kagura was still as a statue, a bead of sweat running down from her forehead.

The silence was interrupted by a violent eruption of noise that came beyond the door of the bathroom, which caused the three girls to jump in their seats and look towards the door with worry. For what seemed like eternity, there was a horrible, disgusting retching sound emanating from bathroom.

It sounded like the personification of human misery and suffering that prevailed all of existence.

"You know..." Arvella said after sipping her tea, causing the three to snap their attention her. "Despite the situation we find ourselves in…" She took another sip, her eyes slightly apologetic. "I am genuinely sorry about my husband's recklessness in giving your friend that much wine. He genuinely thought she was the right age to drink that much alcohol."

The three girls didn't know how to respond to such a casual apology in an otherwise very tense situation. Kagura starts to respond, but was interrupted by an opening door.

XXX

 **Rubina POV**

I slowly stumble out of the bathroom after experiencing perhaps the worst bout of sickness I have ever had. Arvella was calmly sipping tea while Kagura, Risley and Araña are staring at me, their faces red and damp from stress. I walk to where I was before, the eyes of friends following me the whole way, and sit down. Despite vomiting out what I assumed was my entire life force into a Ye Olde Chamber Pot (eww!), and a headache that felt like someone drove a nail through my skull, I actually feel quite good. I guess puking out your soul into a medieval poo pot cures a hangover. A sense of dread quickly interrupts my new-found sense of wellbeing as I see Arvella's deadpan expression.

I look around at my friend's expressions of nervousness, then my eyes settle on Arvella, and a little bit of unease wells up within me. "Well… I'm guessing the cat is out the bag?" I ask slowly, using all my strength to keep eye contact with the woman. Damn! This lady's gaze is almost as intense as Celia's, and she doesn't even look angry yet. More like… mildly annoyed.

"Yes." She says flatly. "I would definitely say the 'cat is out of the bag'". She leans forward, and looks to me with a serious, but also curious expression. "Now that we are done playing around, tell me where you four are really from, and why are you here?" She demands. The intensity of her ocean blue eyes projects the message of 'Lie to me, and you will be sorry.'

I swallow a lump in my throat as I look to Kagura and the others, and for a brief moment, we just stare at each other, having the invisible and silent conversation of 'should we tell her?' with just our facial expressions, until they all nod for me to proceed. I look back to the woman, twiddling my thumbs and I could feel my toes curl in anxiety. "We, uh…" I say before swallowing my nerves and wetting my dry lips. "Come from, uh, Salice…" I squeak out.

Arvella sighs before her face hardens. "I said that I do not like to be lied to." One of her hands balls up into a fist, and I feel like an immense pressure is bearing down on me, making it hard to breathe.

"W-We are from…" I struggle to get out. Damn! This woman would give Celia a run for her money on the scary scale. "We are from a d-different time!" I force out.

Arvella looks unamused with my confession.

"We got sucked into a magic mirror that somehow put us 150 years in the past!" Kagura says quickly.

The woman raises a brow. "What?" She says incredulously, and the invisible pressure that is bearing down on us stops, killing the tension, causing us to take collective gasps of air. She puts her hand up to her chin and starts to think. "That's impossible, I can't believe…" She starts mumbling to herself, her words becoming too quiet to hear, and she seems to completely forget about us.

I look to Kagura and the others, who have matching confusion on their faces. I look back to Arvella. "Uh, yeah… I found this weird mirror, and uh, it kinda sucked us all in. After that, we find ourselves a couple hundred years in the past…" I explain, unsure about what this sudden shift in tone meant.

Arvella's eyes snap to me. "Do you have the mirror? May I see it!?" She quickly holds out her hand with an expectant look on her face, as if I didn't have to the option to refuse.

Well, to be honest, I could refuse if I wanted to, but from I have just experienced in the last 10 minutes, this woman is hiding her abilities. No normal person, or even low-level mages, can exude that much intimidating presence. This woman must have some monstrous magic reserves to overwhelm all four of us and not even show a magical aura. If mages want to intimidate normal people, or even lower level mages, they can just release some raw magic power around them to create what feels like an intense pressure. The air will feel thicker because of the heavier concentration of ethernano coming from the mage. Usually, a colored aura appears around the mage when they do this. If I remember correctly, I think Gildarts did this to Natsu at the S-class exam... I will have to check my notes… Anyway, for Arvella to make us feel such a pressure, means she has vast magic reserves. To make us feel the pressure without summoning a visible aura is baffling. She must be either casting an illusion to hide it, or it is a color not visible to the human eye, which is unheard of. Oddly, I can only sense a moderate amount of magic within the woman, which means she must have some godly levels of magic suppression… I will have to keep an eye on her.

I cautiously nod at the woman's request, and summon the mirror from my requip space. I hand it over, and Arvella immediately starts inspecting it for a few moments before her eyes go wide. "I can't believe it…" She says aloud, her voice filled with disbelief. She runs her fingers over the ornate engravings. "I never thought I would ever see one of these in person…"

I raise a brow. "What? See what? Do you know what this is?"

Arvella ignores my question, and continues to look over the mirror. "This mirror… It has temporal magic…" She looks to us. "Tell me, are any of you a Chronomancer?"

What? Temporal Magic? Chronomancer? What in the hell did we find!?

"W-What is that?" I hear Risley ask.

Arvella sighs. "I thought so…" She then clears her throat. "Chronomancy is the magic of time itself, and is a lost form magic, with only a few rare relics left. This mirror is a relic that I only have seen depictions of in books. In fact, I thought such a mirror was only a legend, but it turns out, I have been proven wrong." She holds up the mirror so that we could can see it better. "What you have here is a Paradox Mirror. Supposedly, it senses an anomaly in time, like a person from another time being in the wrong place, and tries to fix it. It probably sent you four here because it sensed that you were somehow supposed to be here in this time for some event or purpose. So, to try to fix the problem, it sent you here to fulfill the paradox and once you are done with whatever you supposed to do, it might send you back…"

There is a brief pause as we all digest what has been said. There is one thing that is bugging me about this information, but before I can act on my curiosity, Kagura beats me to it. "If this magic is so rare, how come you know so much about it?" She has suspicion in her voice, and her eyes are narrowed with accusation.

Arvella only smirks and lets out a light chuckle, not affected by Kagura's attempt at intimidation. "I may not look like it now, but in my younger years, I was quite the explorer." Her smirk widens. "Exploring the world, finding rare texts in ruins, learning new things, widening my mind to new things… It was a fun time." She has a look of reminiscence.

When she was younger? She looks to be in her mid to late twenties! When did she have all that time to explore the world and do all this stuff!? She does not look her age at all… Well actually, to be fair, I don't look my age and now that I think about it, most mages look younger than they appear to be. Look at Celia. She is in her forties, yet she looks barley in her thirties.

Arvella clears her throat, and her face grows serious again. "Back to the matter at hand. You four had been brought here for a reason, and we need to figure out that reason."

"For what reason could we be here for?" Araña asks.

Arvella sighs, and starts rubbing her temple. " I don't know."

"Don't know?" Risley echoes.

Arvella nods. "There is going to be an event that you four are a part of, otherwise, the mirror wouldn't have transported you here. Whether the event is major, minor, a celebration, a disaster, easy or hard, I can't tell." Arvella looks all of us in the eyes. "But I can assure you that you an event will happen."

There is a few moments of silence until. "Well, we should start figuring out what that event will be. I don't intend on staying here." Kagura declares.

I nod in agreement. "I concur… Has there been any strange events lately? Like anything unusual in town or the surrounding area?"

Arvella smirks. "Way to put me on the spot, Kid." She puts a hand up to her chin. "Hmm, being a rural village, nothing too exciting happens in Salice. Besides the occasional dispute between farmers, nothing really happens out here…" She closes her eyes to think for a few moments before opening them again. "Well, there is this one thing that has been happening lately…" Her face was unsure, her eyes showing concern.

I raise a brow. "What has been happening?" I inquire gently.

"Well, in the past few weeks, there has been a series of arsons all around the countryside." Arvella reveals slowly. "But, these are not normal arsons. The arsonist has been burning down entire villages, leaving no survivors."

For an instant, I am back in Rosemary, I feel the inferno on my skin, and the screams of people in my ear. I clench my fist, digging my nails in to my palm. Arvella continues on. "The burned down areas are also left toxic, and what I mean by toxic, I mean people who are investigating the incidents get a sickening feeling when they enter the ruins, as if the area is giving them a flu, and if they stay in the area too long, they fall deathly ill. It's as if a miasma had been left to claim more victims. Although, individuals such as yourselves might have a little more resistance to it than normal folks."

Kagura was gripping the couch cushion like a vice. "I think this Arsonist, this monster, is a mage." She forces out in suppressed anger. I look to her and I can see a dark look on her face. It seems I'm not the only one getting flashbacks. I put my hand on her shoulder and she turns her head to me, and I give her the look of 'Calm down'. After a few moments, she swiftly looks away with a "hmpf!"

I turn my attention to Arvella. "Sorry about that, we have a bad history with arsonist."

Arvella nods. "I understand, I am just as angry."

"Is there a pattern to this slaughter, or is it just random?" I lean forward, intent on knowing where I can find these bastards.

"Since we are a small village in the country side, news gets to us a little bit slowly, but since the arsons started a few months ago, there has been a hastening of the news flow. The most recent attack was one week ago, about 30 miles north of here, at the village of Aster." Arvella stands up. "There is a road that leads north that will take you there if you want to investigate." She then picks up the tea tray. "I'm going to make some more tea." She then walks to the kitchen.

I look to the others. "Well, should we investigate? This might be the event that could send us home."

Risley looks unsure. "I don't know, Rubi... If there is a mage going around burning towns, and the latest one happened over a week ago, I don't think the person would still be there. Heck, if what Arvella-san says is true, and this person is burning down towns all over the country side, then he might be targeting Salice as well, and might be on his way here."

"Yeah, what happens if as soon as we leave, this person shows up and burns the town while we're gone?" Araña says.

"If we stay here and wait for this person to show up, that means people could get in the crossfire, assuming they even come here! They could be going a completely different direction to burn another village! We should go investigate, and intercept this asshole before he kills more people!" I slam my fist on the couch arm, and a little bit of electricity sparks over my body.

"Rubi! Calm down!" Kagura commands. "While it would be wise to stay than to investigate and track down the person responsible for the fires, it would also be unwise to leave the town unguarded. Therefore, we should come up with a solution that fits the best of both worlds." She looks to Risley and Araña. "You two should stay back and make sure the town in safe. Araña, your webs could make excellent traps, assuming you have a fire-resistant web."

"Well, I have been working on a web that can withstand some flames, but if they are too hot, then they will be like paper in a bonfire." Araña nods.

"Good." Kagura then looks to Risley. "Risley, with your gravity magic, you can easily restrain anyone or at least slow them down enough to hinder them." She then looks to me. "Rubi, with our combat skills, we would be suited as an excellent strike team. I am fairly convinced we can tackle anyone short of a wizard saint if we work together. So, we should be the ones to investigate."

I nod. "Ok then, I can work with that."

"I assume you signorinas figured out a plan?" I hear the voice of Arvella from behind. I look back to see her with a full tray of tea cups. She then walks back to her chair, sets the tea on the table, and sits down. "Would you like some tea?" She says as she pours some into a cup. We then explained our plan to her, and after eating some breakfast, me and Kagura decided to head out.

All four of us are outside, at the front door. "Ok, me and Araña-chan are going to patrol the outskirts of the village, to make sure no one sneaks through the forest." Risley says with a wide smirk, and she then gives us a thumbs up. "No one is gonna get past us!"

I nod. "We will be back by late afternoon at the most. 30 miles isn't that far when you can move at our speeds." Normally, 30 miles would take a normal person several hours, but a mage, when they want to, can cross those types of distances quickly on foot . Normally, a mage will either walk normally or take some form of transportation to save energy, but when the situation requires it, a mage can really haul ass. It took us just under an hour to get close to Aster.

Kagura starts walking to the road leading to the north. "Come on, Rubi, we don't have all day!" She says over her shoulder.

I start walking after her. "See you guys later!" I wave.

As soon as we got out of Salice, we picked up the pace and started running towards Aster at breakneck speeds. As we got closer and closer, about a mile out or so, I started feeling something a little bit of the side effects that Arvella described, but I was also feeling something else, something unsettling, something that just felt wrong, something… Something… evil? It felt like and abomination that violated nature's laws. I feel my face scrunch up in disgust, and I look to Kagura. "Hey, Kagura, do you feel something… off?"

Kagura glances over. "I sense some really strong residual magic, and I have a little bit of the sicking feeling welling up within me." Her face is tense, but it also a small hint of unease is also present.

I shake my head a bit. "No, does it feel like, I, it- I don't know how to describe it. Malignant? Evil…?"

Kagura raises a brow. "I don't know if I feel that... Maybe your senses are sharper than mine, but I can say it feels like have a light cold."

We then arrive to the entrance of Aster, and what I see is something that I've only seen decades ago in a video game, in my previous life. The entire town is an ash pile finer than sand. And when I say an ash pile, a literal ash pile. No surviving structures. No charred wood. No semblance of civilization. The feelings I am sensing from far away are now intensified, and it almost makes me feel sick to my stomach. This makes the raid of Rosemary look like a campfire. Me and Kagura walk around in stunned silence, the ash collapsing and shaping beneath our feet. We then see a human form, standing in the ash, but as we get closer, we see it for what it really is. It is an ash person. The fire from who or what ever did this was so hot, it immediately turned everything to ash. A strong gust of wind blows through, and the ash person crumples and blows away in the wind.

"What... What could have done this…" I say, looking around for any clues as to where the beast that did this could have gone.

Kagura looks numb. "I never seen anything like this… For everything to be so completely incinerated… I don't think anything short of a dragon could produce flames that hot… I don't think we can fight something that can do this." She looks around, and then her eyes go wide."R-Rubi, I think we have a problem…"

"What?" There is a sinking feeling as I turn my head to where she was looking. I then see what she saw. It is a burned, ashy path through the forest, going directly south. Directly towards Salice.

"Fuck…" is all that leaves my lips before I take off towards the road back at full speed, Kagura following behind, towards Salice. We must evacuate the village before whatever creature caused the destruction of Aster got there. This isn't something that me and Kagura could fight alone.

XXX

 **3rd person POV, 1 hour prior**

Arvella watched as the four mages walked away in groups of two, keeping a smile on her face and continued to wave until they were out of sight of her. Her expression then became grim, with a little hint of guilt, as she turned her head north, sensing the looming malevolence from the north, over 30 miles away. She sighed and looked to the gloomy overcast sky. "Sister… Should I have told them…" She reached up and clenches the crystal of her necklace. "Should I have told them I could sense the approaching evil? That I had a vague idea what might be approaching!? Should I have told them the truth!" Her other hand clenched into fist, and she shook her head. "No! Revealing my knowledge of time magic, and releasing my magic power was already too much! How could I have explained sensing something so evil, so far away!?" She looked down and closed her eyes. "I fear the time has come for me to use my power once again. I don't know if I will survive it or not." She lets out a small, depreciating laugh. "Heh, maybe I will be seeing again, Sister." She then walked towards the lake, her blue eyes flashing for a brief moment, and a faint blue aura materialized around her body. "I just hope you won't be seeing your niece and brother-in-law as well…"

* * *

Well, this chapter turned dark all of the sudden. I'm so happy to finally to be almost at the climax of this arc. I can't wait to start writing it. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to Arvella. Rubi has the ability to recover from hangovers quickly... that or the chamber pot was magical. We may never know...


	31. La leggenda di Marea

**Ok, I am SO sorry for the long break. School had hit me like a truck, and a combination of work and stressing over building a gaming PC had taken my attention. I finally sat down and forced myself to finish this arc with the longest fight i have ever written. After this arc, there will be one more original arc, than I can start writing with canon material.**

* * *

 **La leggenda di Marea**

" _Long ago, the Age of Dragons had come to an end, and with them, went many of the great magical races. The magic of world had grown thin, and for a time, there was void in the order of things. Eventually, the Humans of Earthland managed to reorganize among themselves, and establish civilization based on their own merit, laws, and faith._

 _For a time, Mankind prospered. Their bodies didn't require great amounts of magic to survive, and they could reproduce quickly, allowing them to repopulate after_ _ **The Great Catastrophe**_ _. It looked as though the new Age of Man would last for a long, long time._

 _But with the Dragons no longer around, and the world's magic drained, a dormant threat could emerge unhindered. The perfect storm was created…_

 _In another realm, watching, waiting, was a force not seen since the Dragons first rose to prominence. The legions of the Hellish Realm were ready to invade and lay waste to world. The daemons of Hell did not rely on magic to sustain their bodies. To them, magic was a commodity that extracted from every world they conquered._

 _When the first portal opened, the daemons legion gluttonously consumed large swaths of land. The Humans of Earthland quickly and painfully found out that their magic had little effect on the vile hordes. It turned out, pure Dragon magic was one of the few types of magic that could affect the daemons. The invading force kept making successful advances, and it seemed that hope was lost, and all would be consumed by the darkness…_

 _Then came the Exorcists, who were an order of clerics from the newly established Zentopian Church that specialized in expelling demonic spirits. They found out that their magic could hurt the daemons, and quickly capitalized on this. They started training anyone who could use magic in the art of Exorcism._

 _Slowly, but surly, the Daemons were driven back, and eradicated from Earthland entirely, and mankind could rise uninhibited…" Arvella was sitting on a chair next to a small bed with Sofia laying on it, staring at her in amazement._

" _So, they were defeated just like that?" Sofia leaned forward, her eyes full of curiosity._

 _Arvella mad a small smile, leaned forward, and kissed the girl on the forehead, "Well, it wasn't easy. In fact, it took decades and many lives. Some types of daemons were harder to slay than others. So, the amount of bloodshed was dependent on the daemon the Exorcists encountered." She said as leaned back from the kiss._

 _Sofia cocked her head, "What do you mean different types?"_

 _Arvella put a hand up to her chin, "Let's see, there were water daemons, small daemons, large daemons…" She then grimaced, "But none were more destructive and full of malic than the fire daemons…" She took a deep breath, "They were among the top ranks of the daemon invaders, and among the last to be eradicated because of how powerful they could be…"_

" _Could you beat one, Mama?"_

 _Arvella put on a smile, "Of course I can." She said, hiding her inner uncertainty. "There's nothing I can't stop, especially for my little Tesoro."_

XXX

We managed to convince the village to evacuate to other side of the lake, partly because Wizards in this era were highly respected, and the massive plume of smoke in the distance helped as well.

With civilians out of the way, we had come up with a plan to take what ever was coming our way with minimal collateral damage to the surrounding area.

"Okay." I say, pointing to the make-shift diagram of the village in the ground I drew with a stick. "What ever this thing is, it possesses some top-tier fire magic. To reduce people to such a fine ash is frightening, and we must make sure to avoid it. So, we must surprise it and take it down before it can react and use its magic to its full potential." I point to a pebble on the diagram, "Araña, we are going to need your finest fire-proof webbing to set up a heavy-duty snare. We need you to make fall on its face." Araña nods, and I point to two different stones, "Risley, you and Kagura are going to use your gravity magic to keep this thing pinned to the ground so that I can deliver a swift, but powerful blow to this thing's vital points, hopefully killing it."

Risley nods, but she looks unsure, "I like this plan, but… What if you are unable to kill it, or me and Kagura are unable to hold it down?"

Kagura looks to her, "Than we adapt. Me and Rubi will be the main attackers while you two provide support. Do things to hinder its ability to attack. I'm confident that we can take it down if you two are nearby helping us." She says with a confident smile.

"Yeah, this thing stands now chance with all us here!" Araña cheers.

I feel a smile of my own creep on my face, "Well, we should start setting things up and get into position. By my estimates, this thing should be here within the next hour." Everyone nods, and we begin setting our trap.

Before we are finished, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look to see Kagura looking at me with a concerned expression. "Rubi…" she began, "Do you think this plan will work? We haven't even seen this thing, and so many things can go wrong…" She trails off.

I look to her, keeping my own uncertainty in check, "Honestly Kagura, I'm not sure, but, this is the best chance of taking this thing down. You know what happens if we fail. Salice won't exist if we don't stop whatever this thing is." I sigh before putting my hand on her shoulder, "So let's kill this thing, ok?"

She looks me in the eye for a moment, before nodding, a confident look in her eyes, "Yeah. Let's do this."

"The snares are set, Rubi-nee!" Came the loud voice of Araña from behind.

"Good, let's get into position then." I say, turning around. "If the snares fail to trip it, keep applying more webbing to immobilize as much as possible."

"Yes ma'am!" Araña says while giving a playful salute before running off to get into position.

I look back to Kagura, taking a deep breath, "Come, it's show time."

Her expression hardens, and is now serious, "Yes… Yes, it is." We walk to our position, which is behind a house at the edge of the forest where the creature would emerge from. Risley is there, waiting for us. "Risley, make sure to use all your power. We can't be too careful." Kagura instructs, which is met with a nod.

We hear a loud, rumbling roar. It sounded almost like a lion's, but several magnitudes more intimidating. Flocks of birds suddenly flew over our heads, escaping the foul plumes of smoke and ash that were starting to block out the sky. The area around us darkens as the smell of sulfur and burning firewood fills our nostrils. Loud, earth-shaking footsteps make the buildings around us vibrate. I feel a wave of dread, despair, and… evil enter the area, make me tremble a bit. I look the others, to see Araña and Risley paralyzed, and Kagura slightly startled.

I grip my hilted sword tightly with one hand, and summon my lightsaber to my other, "Stay focused!" I say with forced confidence, "Just do what we planned, and we will prevail." I emit some of my own magic to counteract the over bearing presence, hopefully making it easier for Risley and Araña to focus.

I look around the wall of the house we are standing behind, and to the forest to see the bright red glow of fire through the trees. Externally, I'm keeping myself looking calm and collected, but internally, I'm just as scared of what we are facing as the others. The footsteps are getting bigger and louder, the low grumbling roars are getting clearer, and the grip on my weapons are getting tighter. My heart is beating a million times a minute right now, and I feel myself getting jumpy.

Alas, a shape of a large, horned figure starts to emerge from the fire and the ashes. With one last, mighty roar, several trees are toppled, and the mystery creature finally reveals itself….

…

…

…God dammit!

I look to the sky, narrowing my eyes, as if I can see the Lord himself, "Why do you do this to me!" I shout to the heavens.

The mystery monster was a Balrog.

Yes.

That Balrog from that Lord of the Rings movie.

The one that spawned the 'You Shall not Pass meme'. Surly, there must be some omnipotent being out there screwing with me. This can't be a coincidence!

Seeing my exasperated look and figurative and literal fist shaking to the heavens, Kagura shouts, "Rubi, what in the hell are you doing!"

I look to her, my twitching, "Kagura, its happening! The gods are screwing with me again! Sending fantasy crea-OW!"

"Rubi, I don't give a crap about your stupid superstitions! We have a job to do!" Kagura cuts me off, slapping the back of my head.

"Right…" I say, rubbing my head. I grab my sword and draw it from its sheathe. "Engaging!" I shout as I jump into the open, into the line-of-sight of the demon, locking eyes with it. I got to tell you, seeing one in real life is absolutely terrifying. The Balrog upon seeing me, roars, and flames burst out of its body and it wings spread out, revealing its muscular arms. It spawns a sword of flames in its hands and begins to charge towards my position. Perfect.

I smirk as it does what it we wanted it to do. The Balrog being distracted by me, did not notice the red colored webbing strewn across the ground. The flaming beast runs into the field of webs just as planned, and immediately the snares come to life, wrapping around its legs, and the beast loses its balance, tumbling to the ground.

"Now!" I shout. Kagura and Risley jump out, and immediately get to work. I see the shimmering field of their gravity magic take effect on the Balrog. I let my magic power flow through my body, and let it envelope my sword, to give it some extra punch. I leap into the air, above the demon, powering up my lightsaber, and point my blades downward, aiming for the back of the neck.

But before I can land my blow, the area around me heats up, and flames burst violently from the Balrog, enveloping it like a cocoon.

I must abort, or those flames will cause some serious damage!

Time slows for me as I perform my latest technique that I mastered recently. My body becomes almost fluid like, and it feels like I have taken several expresso shots at the same time. I direct myself back to where I initially leaped from and transform my body back to it original form. This all happened within the span of a second. After years of taming my magic and singeing my body, I finally obtained the ability to use lightning form. And I must say, its one of the most satisfying abilities to use. It makes me feel like the Flash, making everything else seem slower than they actually are. It is also almost like flying, giving me a degree of freedom, I never had before. Only downside is that I have to use it sparingly, because I only just achieved it, and it uses a decent amount of energy.

The fire cocoon bursts, catching the surround area on fire, and the Balrog pushes itself up, ignoring the gravity field trying to hold it down. I notice that the webbing that ensnared it was gone.

Well, this complicates things. Time for plan B.

I give Kagura a nod while sheathing my blades, before she and Risley disengage their magic. The sudden shift in the gravity causes the Balrog to stumble slightly, and I give it no time to recover as I charge towards with a leap. The lacrima in my gauntlet glows brightly as I pump as much energy as I could into it.

The Balrog recovers quickly, and sees me coming, making it draw back its swords to strike me in mid-air with what looks like a crooked demonic smile on its face. I continued my charge as the sword came towards me at full speed, because I knew they would not hit me. And surely enough, the blade stop with a resounding boom as Kagura intercepted them with her blade, which was glowing white with magic.

" **Repulson Blade!** " She yells as her sword pulses brightly. The gigantic flaming blades are suddenly repulsed away, leaving the Balrog wide open again.

The beast has a slight look of surprise as my enhanced fist collided with a crack that sounded like breaking firewood. Its head is violently knocked back and it stumbles backwards from the fully powered punch. Strands of webbing from Araña's magic connect it and the ground together, and a yellow magic circle made by Risley appears above it, creating a gravity field to further cause it to lose balance and fall on its back. Kagura, her blade still shining brightly with magic, gives it no opportunity to recover as she switches to her slashing form.

" **Graviton Barrage!** " she yells as she unleashes a salvo of gravity enhanced strikes from the air upon the fiery demon. The faint outline of the strikes could be seen traveling through the air and impacting the demon with enough force to break the ground around it, causing an outline in the shape of the beast like it was a cookie cutter punching through a sheet of dough. When the dust settled, we saw the demon laying in the demon shaped hole in the ground, it's chest immaculate of any type of wound.

This thing is a tank!

The Balrog rises quickly, showing no battle fatigue or pain, and shoots out an enraging inferno from its mouth, big enough to engulf a house with ease right towards Kagura. I spring forward with lightning speed, both my blades in hand, and slash downwards, causing the flames to part like a red sea. I look to Kagura and we exchange looks, acknowledging that this thing is tougher than we thought.

We both jump away as the beast suddenly charges towards us, bringing down its swords on the spot we were just standing. Kagura's sword glows brightly again as she gets into her Strong Form, " **Gravity Cannon!** " she yells as she thrusts her sword forward, and a ginormous shock wave travels through the air and hits the Balrog square in the chest with a loud, percussive blast. It is sent stumbling backwards, and a gravity field produced by Risley appears. The field looks like it is going sideways, making the demon step sideways in an attempt to regain balance.

I pump magic power into my leg, and lunge forward, right towards the creature's head, my sword shinning in one hand, and my lightsaber crackling in the other. The creature sees me coming, but it doesn't bring its blades up to intercept me, because a series of webs restrain its weapons in place. With it wide open to attack, I slash across its neck with as much force as I could. I hear the beast cry out in pain with a deep, chest thumping roar for the first time as I fall towards the ground and land.

I feel myself smirk.

We can hurt it! That means we can kill it!

I look back the creature, which had dropped its blades, and has a hand over its neck. The Balrog turns around slowly, revealing an expression of extreme anger as it looks straight at me, its eyes spewing hellfire. It takes it hands off its neck, revealing a small slash across it. which has what looks like a small amount of a glowing orange liquid that looks like magma flowing out of it, " **KALTORG!** " it roared hatefully in some unknown language. Suddenly the ambient temperature rose dramatically, and the demon suddenly glows brightly, fire spewing out its body. It releases an earth-shattering roar, glowing brighter and brighter, and the temperature increasing as well. A sphere of fire then erupts from it, and the flames start consuming all that they envelope.

Shit!

I use my lightning form to quickly appear in front of Risley and Araña. Kagura appears beside me. " **Thunder Wall!** " I shout as I summon a thick wall of red lightning to intercept the raging hell fire, which smashes into the wall like a violent ocean tide. I grit my teeth because of the tremendous effort of keeping the wall up as the sea of flames continuously slam into it. The flow of flames continues for several seconds before finally calming and then stopping.

Breathing deeply, I collapse my spell, revealing the new horror that awaited us. The Balrog has changed its form, now over twice as large as before, its body wreathed in flames that could be felt from even where we are standing. The sheer sickening presence it gave has increased as well, making me feel sick to my stomach. The beast looks over to us, and it seems to focus on me, locking its eyes with mine, " **KALTORG! GOR FAL DUL!"** it roars in its language. The flaming swords in its hands were gone, replaced with a flaming whip. It raises it and makes it crack repeatedly, filling the air with loud thunderclaps.

Of course, it's using a whip!

It draws back the whip and the way its body is positioned, it looks like its aiming at me… Shit! "Risley, Araña! Flee! Let me and Kagura handle this!" I shout, jumping away from them as fast as I could. The demon adjusts its aim and tries to hit me midair, but I manage to boost myself out of the way of it. The cracking whip hurt my eardrums as it cracks a few feet from me, and the heat radiating from it was like hovering a few inches from a hot stove-top. It seems like I pissed this thing off. I land, and I immediately roll to dodge another strike from the whip. I charge lightning into my hand, forming a hammer of red crackling electricity, " **Mjölnir!** " I shout as I throw straight towards the Balrog, which impacts its face with a resounding boom. Its head is knocked back a little, and I can see its face twitch slightly, but no visible damage beyond that.

It laughs menacingly, " **DUL DAR KOS KALTORG.** " It laughs out mockingly, " **DUL DAR RUSTARG.** " It roars before quickly launching its whip towards me once again. I jump back to dodge, but it gives me no time to counter-attack, as it starts rapid firing off strikes. I start doing backflips to get out of the range of its whip, but it keeps walking forward with malevolent confidence, laughing loudly. I enter lightning form and transport myself to a roof of a house behind it, and quickly form a crackling spear to my hand, I put a little more magic power into it since I was dealing with something that was mostly like an A-Class creature or above. " **Gungnir!** " I yell, chucking the spear at it, and it races towards it with near lightning speed. It impacts its back, exploding into a shower of crimson sparks. The beast twitches slightly, some of the flames from its body are blown off, but they quickly reform, and it turns around with a smile full of malice and arrogance.

" **Gravity Canon!** " Shouts Kagura as she jumps out from the alleyway that she was taking cover in. The shockwave hits the Balrog straight in the face, it doesn't even flinch as it impacts. Kagura is shocked but has no time to react before the demon quickly bats her with its power flaming wings, sending her flying, crashing into buildings.

"Kagura!" I yell, before I feel something searing hot wrap around me, causing me grunt in pain. It was the demons whip. I let my magic flow around me, reinforcing my resistance as I'm quickly tugged in the air. I feel myself being whipped through the air at great spees, I feel my body impact something hard, most likely the ground. I grunt in pain as I am repeatedly slammed in the ground before I quickly regain my bearings to escape by going into lightning form. I get far away from the Balrog, going towards the direction Kagura was thrown to, and hid behind a house. I check myself over real quick assessing my injuries. Thanks to reinforcing my defenses, it only managed to give me some minor first degree burns on my arms and some scratches. I don't think I'll be able to take that same attack with such little injuries again.

I see Kagura crouch walking towards me, her outfit scuffed up and her hair messy, but she looks relatively ok. "Rubi, this thing hits hard and is barley taking damage. I hit that thing at full power and it looked like it barley noticed it. I hope you have a plan."

I take a deep breath, "It seems my lightning attacks have an effect on it. I can try hitting it with one of my more powerful spells, but I would need a distraction, because it would see me coming and most surely catch me with its whip."

Kagura nods, "I think I can manage that, but be quick about it, I can't dodge it all day like you can." She then jumps out from our cover to the middle of the street, "Hey ugly! I bet you can't even hit the broad side of a barn!" She yells mockingly. I see a gravity field manifest around her with a 20 foot radius.

The demon caught the insult, and turns around, looking annoyed that its skill was insulted. It seems that this thing was very vain about its abilities. It sends its whip at her with blistering speed, but it slowed down as soon as it enters Kagura's gravity field, giving her enough time to jump out of the way and on to a rooftop. "See! You're too slow!" Kagura mocks, sticking her tongue out. Her gravity field is following her, so that the whip would always be slowed down enough for her to escape it.

With the Balrog's attention drawn to Kagura, I pull out my lightsaber and start channeling magic power from my body into it, boosting the blade's power significantly. I control the electrical blade, and make it grow several times its size, shaping it into the shape of a medieval long sword. Lightning is crackling and arcing of it, connecting with the ground and my surroundings as I step out in the middle of the road. The demon's back is to me, too distracted by Kagura's taunts.

Perfect.

I hold my extremely oversized blade with both hands, and I jump in the air towards the beast with as much force as possible. I hold my blade above my head, " **Excalibur!** " I yell as I bring the blade down upon the creature's back. It turns it head as I yell, but it's too late for it to do anything as my blade connects.

It grunts in pain and looks at me with angry look before unleashing a blast of fire from its body. I activate a miniature thunder wall to cover and protect me from the flames. The flames only last a few moments before they subside, and I deactivate my wall to see what looks like a long papercut across its back, before it's covered up again by flames.

This can't be! All that power and all I give it is a freaking papercut!

My shock is cut short by hot, fiery fist connecting with my whole body, knocking the wind out of me and sending me crashing into a building. I'm give no time to recover as I feel the whip envelope me like a fiery hot blanket, and fling me back towards the balrog, which has its fist cocked and ready. I put all my magical energy into protecting myself before its fist connects like a semi-truck hitting a small compact car. All I feel is pain as I am once again sent flying back to where I previously landed before. My whole-body aches, my vison blurry, and my limbs slow to respond, and I think I just coughed a little bit of blood.

Great.

Why do I always face enemies above my level? Is this some type of punishment for something? I feel like an anime character without the power of plot armor to give me strength… Well, to be fair, the real protagonist of this world is probably getting his head smashed in by my sister or doing something stupid… It would be nice to fight something that isn't out of my league for once…

I notice Kagura jump in front of me, and I hear a panicked "Rubi!" through the ringing of my ears. Huh, I think I might have concussion as well. I give a slow nod, "L-let's get out of here" I croak out. She nods, picks me up, and puts me over her shoulder.

" **SOL DUR COTORAI KOS KALTORG!** " I hear the Balrog roar. I look to it and see it put both its hands up, summon a gigantic amount of fire and condense it into a ball, basically forming a miniature sun. It rapidly grows bigger in the blink of the eye despite being so compressed. It kind of reminds me of Goku's Spirit bomb, but eviller and less spiritual. " **GOR!** " It roars as it launches towards us with the same speed of its whip. The world seems to slow down as the gigantic death ball flies towards us.

There's no way to dodge that! Even if we move out of the way, it's more than likely explosive with a huge blast radius. I look to Kagura, and I see she is frozen like a deer in headlights. It can't end this way!

" **Aqua Celestis: Murus!** "

Suddenly a wall of a golden liquid rushes up in the path, and the miniature sun collides with it, exploding violently with a deafening boom. We can see the fire on the other side through the golden wall, and it doesn't budge one inch. Steam rapidly releases from the top of the wall and the fire subsides.

What the hell!?

"I guess I really do have to step in…" A familiar voice says. Suddenly, a human form materializes in front of us made from the same golden liquid that the wall was made from. The form solidifies and takes the form of Arvella. She looks back to us, her form has a bright golden outline, "I can take it from here. You do not possess the right tools for the job, but…" her lips form a small smile, " I do." Her form glows brightly, and her lower half starts to change shape, "Its unfortunate that I have to use this form once more, but it seems I have no other option…" She says in a regretful tone. Her legs combine into one and then elongate, forming a fishtail shape, and her form then starts to levitate a few inches off the ground.

I feel my eyes widen as her form stops glowing, revealing a mermaid. Her lower half matched her hair, a deep ocean blue. Her shirt was gone, with a simple bikini top replacing it instead, and her necklace still hanging from her neck.

A Mermaid!? I thought Aquarius was the only one! Wait a minute… We are over a hundred years in the past, in Salice, there is a demon attacking it, and now a mermaid appears… Holy crap, that story was actually true!?

How did I not realize this sooner!?

The golden wall collapses, and the now revealed mermaid, Arvella, raises her right hand, " **Aqua Celestis: Hasta** " She says calmly as spear of golden liquid, which I presume is some form of water, forms in her hand. "Leave this place, Daemon!" She shouts as she throws the spear at incredible speed, picking up dust in its wake.

The spear impacts the Balrog violently, going clean through it, and a shroud of steam erupts around it as it roars in a deeper pain that I could have ever caused it.

Whatever water magic she is using, it's on a whole other tier of magic!

Arvella gives the demon no break as she forms a liquid sword in her hand, " **Aqua Celestis: Gladius!** "she shouts, charging towards the steam with incredible speed, almost rivaling me without lightning form. It almost knocked me and Kagura over with how fast she took off.

A flaming sword comes out of the steam and intercepts her own blade, which creates a strong shockwave, blowing all the steam away, revealing the enraged demon, " **MERTOAR!** " It growls. It suddenly forms a second sword in its other hand and slashes at Arvella, who quickly jumps backwards.

"You will not survive this, Daemon!" She yells as she charges once more, her sword growing longer, and swings it over her head, which is intercepted by both of the Balrog's own swords, releasing another shockwave. They then enter a dance of power with very little finesse as they start striking at each other with their powerful blades, causing the ground to shake, and some buildings even fall apart as a result of their clash.

"Kagura, we should get to a safer spot, we would only get in her way." I say as I take her arm off my shoulder. The brief pause Arvella gave us allowed me to recover from that last hit I took. She nods, and we jump to the rooftops, and get enough distance away from the fight where we would not be in Arvella's way, but close enough so that we could be of assistance to her if needed.

Their swords clash, once more, and they push against each other, causing their power to spill out. Dark, evil looking flames spew out of the demon, billowing high to the atmosphere, while golden waves of water form around Arvella to meet the bellowing flames where their swords connect. I can only gap out the sheer amount of magic power being released. It feels as though my own magic reserves are just a small drop in a very large ocean. Lightning starts erupting overhead. There is too much ethernano colliding, and its supercharging, releasing itself in the form of lightning. It isn't enough though, and the colliding walls of magic proves too much to discharge, and the point where their swords are clashing shines brightly, before causing an explosion that shatters the earth, and splits the heavens, revealing the late afternoon sky. Me and Kagura avert our eyes from the brightness of the explosion and are almost blown off the roof we are standing on, which has all its shingles blown off, and it feels like its structural integrity is compromised.

The world goes still as we look back and see that both Arvella and the Balrog were both still standing, albeit several yards away from each other, and a large crater has formed around them. The buildings closest to them were completely destroyed. Both looked like they are breathing heavier than before, but they don't look like they will be stopping anytime soon.

The Balrog summons a massive amount of fire to its hands, " **GOR!** " it roars before slamming its hand to the ground. Large pillars of fire erupt from the ground in a line and start rushing towards Arvella.

" **Aqua Celestis: Aestus!** " Arvella yells as she summons a sudden river of golden water, which intercepts the pillars of flame in the middle between them. They collide, and start to fight each other, pushing each other back and forth, trying to achieve dominance. I can see Arvella grit her teeth as she tries to hold back the demon's attack.

The Balrog seems like it isn't having an easy time either, and it looks like it is angry that it can't just squash its current opponent like it could us. The beast roars hatefully, and the flames covering its body glow brighter. The flame pillar clashing with Arvella's water suddenly flashes, and grows bigger, overpowering the water, and starts pushing it back to the mermaid. Arvella envelops herself in a golden sphere as the flaming pillars hit her directly, enveloping her completely.

" **Aqua Celestis: Stagnum!** " A huge body of water materializes above the flaming pillar, smothering it out with a roaring hiss, and freeing Arvella from the flames.

The Balrog gives her no respite as it charges to right next to her, both its swords coming down for a slash. Arvella rolls out of the way, and summons spear to her hand, catching the demon on the side of its arm, causing it to hiss in pain. The Balrog moves through the pain though, and suddenly sends a blast of fire out its mouth, hitting Arvella square on. It pushes her back a few yards. Arvella looks like she is wincing from the pain. The demon starts shooting more bolts of fire from its mouth at Arvella, who summons a golden sword and starts cutting them in half before they can reach her.

The demon stops rapid firing fire bolts and starts condensing a very large, and very bright ball, which is very similar to the one it shot at me and Kagura. It shoots towards Arvella as fast as a bullet, but before it reaches Arvella, it explodes into a miniature sun, and the whole world becomes light. I look away and hear Arvella yelp in pain. The light fades away, and I see the demon's flaming fist connecting with Arvella. It brings it second fist and hits her while she is winded. This one sends her soaring back hundreds of yards, towards the lake.

"Arvella!" Me and Kagura yell as we watch her crash into the lake, a giant column of water rising upwards from the impact.

The Balrog howls with laughter, and rushes towards the lake with its blades in hand, presumably to make sure she is dead. It reaches the edge of the lake quickly, and steps in. Kagura and I rush over as well, and see steam rising from where the demon is standing, as well as the area around it turning an inky black. " **KRALTOSG MERTOAR!** " It roars in a mocking tone, the inky blackness spreading further into the lake.

This thing is arrogant to step into a lake with a mermaid.

A golden light shines from the middle of the lake, and Arvella emerges from the lake in a golden sphere, battered and bruised. Her eyes are full of determination, " **Aqua Celestis: Lacus!** ", all of the sudden, the whole lake turns a bright gold and I feel the ambient magic levels skyrocket.

This is a spell that a wizard saint would use.

Six gigantic tendrils of water erupt from the lake next to the demon, and pierce each of its limbs before it could move. The demon thrashes in pain and anger as it is pinned by the water.

Arvella is breathing heavily from the strain of the spell, " **Aqua Celestis: Tanta Tempestas!** " She shouts with all her might. The water of the lake grows rough, the wind picks up, and storm clouds suddenly appear above and start spewing golden lightning from the sky, striking the pinned demon, which roars in pain. The winds picks up even more, and water starts to rise from underneath the Balrog, and envelops it completely as it starts to reach towards the sky. It starts twisting and turning, growing rapidly in size, and a multi-story waterspout is forms. The demon can be heard screaming as the spout continues to grow in intensity, with winds reaching speeds faster than the biggest of tornadoes.

Arvella yells in effort as she holds out both her hands and starts to move them closer to each other. The spout starts to get thinner and spin faster, causing the demon to scream louder. Arvella starts shinning brighter as she makes one last push of effort to finish off the demon. The spout flashes, before exploding into a column of light.

The demon's scream disappears completely. Little sparkles of light falling from the sky is all that remains. The water starts to calm, and the storm clouds dissipate.

Kagura and I rush to the shore of the lake to inspect the area.

The Balrog nowhere in sight.

The fight is over.

"So…did I put on a good show…?" I hear a tired, but cocky, Arvella say. I look to her and see that she is completely exhausted, and I sense her magic levels starting to fade.

"I never expected the legend of the mermaid to be real…" I say in amazement.

"Heh… So they make a legend about me huh…." She chuckles tiredly.

"Oi! Kagura, Rubi!" I hear the distant voices of Araña and Risley. I look back to see them running towards the lake, with two people behind them. It was Sofia and Julius. "Mama/Arvella!" They shout in unison.

Sofia crashes into Arvella with a giant hug, and Julius embraces them both. "Are you ok!? Mama!?" Sofia sobs.

Julius has a somber look on him, and it looks like he is holding back tears. He knows something bad is going to happen.

Arvella smiles softly, "shhh, let go of me for second… There is one last thing I have to do…" She says. Julius lets go of her, and Sofia is gently shrouded in golden light and levitated off Arvella. She then looks to us, and summons something to her hand, "It seems your purpose here was to make sure no extra casualties resulted from my battle with the demon…" Her magic levels take a huge, dangerous dive, and the glow around her dims and flickers, "I think you should go home now…" She says as she tosses the mirror at us.

"Wai-" I say as I feel her magic continue to drop, but I am interrupted as the mirror activates midair, sucking us all in.

XXX

The paradox mirror immediately sucked in the wizards to send them back to their own time, and landed on the ground, its light went out and returned to its passive state.

Arvella let out a ragged breath, "Well… It was nice knowing them…" She said between breaths. She then plops to the ground, finding no more strength to levitate.

"You… You used the rest of your magic, didn't you, Arvella…" Julius said with a somber acceptance. His fists were clenched, and his eyes like dams holding back a flood of water.

Arvella sighed tiredly, "I guess so, us Mermaids are creatures of a different era, where the ambient magic was enough to sustain us…"

"What are you saying, Mama!" Sofia wailed, the intensity of her tears increasing.

Arvella brings her into her embrace, "It's..It's my time to go, my Tesoro." She said softly. She then took off the girl's cap, letting her long hair, which was a pleasant seafoam color, go free. "I always thought your hair was especially beautiful… I wish you showed it more in public…" Arvella whispered gently.

Sofia sniffed, "You… You can't g-go! Mama! You still got to teach me magic! You still… still..." Sofia sobs again as she buried head in to the woman. Avella's golden outline was now gone.

"It's alright, everyone has to go eventually…" Tears started to fall, "… I am proud to say… that in my thousands of years of life, that you… are the greatest thing to happen to me…" Arvella sobs. She then took her necklace off, "but, if you want to learn magic, everything you need to know will be in here." She said as she gave kiss to the girl's forehead.

She then looked back to the lake, which still had some spots of blackness in it, "The lake… its corrupted…" she heard Julius say through sobs.

She looked back to her husband, her eyes steeling with determination "I have thing I can do. I can't leave my family without making sure they are safe and healthy…" She then pulls Sofia off her.

"No! Don't go, Mama!" She struggled as her father came in to hold her back. "Stop! Stop! Sto-" She wailed.

Arvella started to slide towards the lake, and looked over shoulder, "Sorry, Tesoro, but Mama has one last thing to do…" She said, holding back a sob.

She then glowed gold once again, using the last of her power for one last spell " **Aqua Celestis: Purgo!** " The lake glows gold once more, and Arvella disappears.

"Mama!" Sofia cries.

A giant column of water rises from the lake, and slowly formed into the shape of a mermaid resembling Arvella. It waved to Sofia and Julius slowly, before going up into the air and then diving back into the water with a large splash. The lake flashes gold before slowly returning to normal, the corruption from the demon gone.

Sofia collapsed to ground, clutching the necklace her mother gave her. She could only stare at the lake, tears staining her face. Julius bent downwards, "Hey… It's going to be alright. I am still with you, and I won't ever leave you…" He said while holding on to her shoulders.

Sofia sniffed, looking him in the eyes, "… pro- *hic* Promis?" She said.

He nodded somberly, "Promise." She stood up, and took her hand to help her back up, "Now, we should go get the rest of the village to tell them that its safe now." Sofia nodded. He picked up the mirror and they started walking to where the others were.

While they were heading to where the rest of the village was, Julius said "Marea…"

Sofia looked to him, "What was that?" She sniffed.

"Marea. That was your mother's maiden name before she married me. I was thinking we should take it, to remember her always…" He said in contemplation.

Sofia thought for a moment, before nodding, "mmm" she said in agreement.

XXX

Arvella watched them from the other world, stars were all around her like a permanent night sky. She smiled softly, feeling melancholy that she couldn't live to see her child grow up.

"It's about time came, Arvella." Came a voice that Arvella hadn't heard in millennia.

She looked back to see a Mermaid with long, light blue hair, and a black tattoo on her chest. She grinned, "Sorry about that, but not everyone gets to be chosen as a celestial spirit, Aquarius."

Aquarius moved next to her, "Yeah, but you didn't have to take so damn long to get here…"

Arvella looked to her family, who were walking by the lake, "Sorry, sister, but I had other things to worry about." Her voice was low and depressed.

Aquarius put a hand on her shoulder, "I know they will be fine. There nothing that can hurt them now…"

"Yeah, I know… It's just that I was looking forward to seeing her grow up some more…" She said softly. She shook her head, before grinning deviously, "So, has my sister finally found a man yet, or is she too 'busy' as a celestial spirit now?" Arvella teased.

Aquarius blushed, "Oh, I met the perfect man. He's so cool and-" she snapped out of her blush and pointed an accusatory finger at her sister, "You're not going to steal my Scorpio, are you!"

Arvella giggled, "No, my heart belongs to another already." She grabbed her sister around the shoulder, "I just want to see if my dear sister finally managed to find a man who can stand her… strong personality." She teased.

Aquarius had an annoyed look on her face, but shook it off, "Fine, but you put one hand on him, and you will see my wrath."

Arvella smiled, "Fine, fine, let's just go" She waved her off.

As they started to move away from the spot they were, Arvella looked over shoulder once more, and smiled.

Her family was safe. That's all that mattered in the end.

XXX

We stumble out of the portal and form a dog pile, but we quickly manage to untangle ourselves.

"Damnit!" I say, punching the ground, causing it to crack. I feel some tears fall down my cheek.

"What's wrong, Rubi?" Risley asks with concern.

"Arvella, she… she was losing a lot of power. It felt like her lifeforce was fading away, but… she sent us back before we could help…" I yell out.

"D-Does that mean…" Araña stutters.

I look to her, "Yes, she most likely died right after we got sent back, just like the story." I then take a moment to look around, and it seems that nothing changed from when we were sent back, in fact, it looked like no time passed at all. After several moments of somber silence, I stand up, "I guess it was destined to happen, but doesn't mean I have to like it…" I say as I wipe the tears off my face. I look to Kagura, who also had a somber expression on their face. "Kagura." I say, getting her attention.

"Yeah?" She responds.

"Tomorrow, we start training like we never trained before." I declare, before looking at Risley and Araña, "You two are joining us as well. I don't ever want to be so outclassed again. It seems like I am always running into threats above my level and I'm sick of it!" My fist clench, "I'm going to be taking the S-class exam soon and I can't be held up by a measly demon!"

"I don't want to be left behind you two!" Risley declares, pointing to herself with her thumb.

"Yeah! If I don't keep up, I can't go on many jobs with you guys!" Araña says with determination.

"Hmm, I see the merit in your thinking, so I guess I am on board as well." Kagura agrees coolly, a small confident small on her face.

I put my hand out, "Right! Tomorrow, we get serious!" The others put their hands in with mine.

Suddenly, four grumbling roars interrupt the moment.

"But first, let's get some food!" I declare, ignoring the rumbling of our stomachs.

"Right!" Everyone shouts.

XXX

Celia was in her office late at night, doing paperwork like a good guild master should. If there was one thing she shared with every guild master, it was the hatred of paper work. It could be worse she supposed. She could have a guild whose members constantly rack up repair bills.

She laughed at the thought of Old Man Makarov breaking the bank because of his particularly destructive members.

She finally finished every single paper and she sank into her chair, relieved to be finally done. She grabbed her necklace, and inspected it, making sure it wasn't dirty and still had its shine. She always had this necklace, ever since her mother passed it down to her, and her mother before that. She wouldn't be as great of a wizard without it.

She put a pulse of magic into it, and it glowed. Suddenly, it projected a light and an image of a woman with ocean blue hair appeared. "Hello, Sofia, I'm glad you figured out how to use this." The image of Arvella said. "I promised you to teach you magic, so I went ahead to implant all my memories of magic into this Lacrima. I set this up in a way so that it teaches you spells when you are ready to learn them." The image smiled, "You may start off with the basics of water magic, but I have faith in you that you can master even the strongest magic, **Aqua Celestis**. The most powerful water magic, and only someone with mermaid blood can truly master." The image smirked, "Don't give me that look, be patient, Tesoro, you'll get it eventually." It said as if predicting what the possible response would be from the user. Its face turned serious, "Ok, lesson one-" Celia turned it off, because she already went through the training program of her ancestor.

She sighed, "I need sleep, I can't be in this office any longer…" She yawned, stretching her limbs out. She put her necklace back on and walked out of her office, making sure to turn the lights out.

* * *

I wish this arc was a little bit smoother, but I think it was a good learning experience as writer. I want to improve my writing when multiple characters are present.

Once again, Rubi is bothered by a higher power (me) and fights something straight out of her old world. I got to showcase two new Abilities, lightning form and Excalibur, as well as show off Kagura's new skills with her blade. Kagura is not much of a magic user, so I decided to incorporate her magic into her swordsmanship. I found it a good compromise between showing how my Kagura's different the Canon one while also keeping somewhat true to her core character, which is a swords-woman.

This fight was me experimenting in team combat. Unfortunately the enemy this time was too powerful for even a team effort, but in the future, Rubi and her friends working together will be much more effective. The star of this fight was not Rubi, but Arvella, and she ultimately needed to be the one to defeat the Balrog, because she was the only one equipped to defeat it.

The next arc will be S-class exam, which I think might be a short arc. Mermaid Heel isn't Fairy Tail. They don't have previous guild masters trying to resurrect Zeref and interrupting the exam to achieve that goal. The guild has a lot less members, and even less that even that qualify or even want to take the exam. Rubi and Kagura will be the only ones qualified to take it and have a chance at succeeding. I got to think out how I am going to do it.

I am thinking of doing a story based in the RWBY universe, but I am waiting for more info on things from the actual show before I even attempt to write it. I was just wondering if you guys would guys would be interested in it when I eventually decide to start it. Yes it might make this stories updates a bit slower than they already are, but it would add a variety to my writing. The RWBY story will have much darker and maturer themes than this story currently is.

Once again, I am sorry for the slow updates. I just want to reconfirm that no matter how long the time between updates, I won't abandon this story, even if it takes me years.


End file.
